Scottish Widows, Aberdeen Investments and science and tech investor IP Group have announced their first investments to connect workplace pension savings with high-growth, innovative UK science and technology companies via the CG Scottish Widows Growth LTAF.
The fund is amongst the first UK pension schemes to actively allocate members’ capital to UK venture growth by connecting patient institutional capital with high-potential British businesses.
Aberdeen Investments, which manages the growth sub-fund for Scottish Widows, has appointed IP Group to manage a UK Venture growth portfolio within the fund, helping bring private markets exposure to workplace pension savers.
The mandate is designed to support stronger retirement returns for members and address a critical constraint on the UK innovation economy — the availability of meaningful follow-on funding for companies ready to commercialise and expand.
The first investments from IP Group will be deployed across several strategically important areas of UK innovation, spanning quantum computing, advanced battery technology and AI-enabled healthcare.
Initial investments are expected to include Oxford Quantum Circuits, which is building commercially available quantum computing systems; Quantum Motion, which is building scalable silicon-based quantum computers designed for mass adoption; Nyobolt, whose ultra-fast-charging battery technology is advancing high-performance energy storage; and Genomics Limited which is applying AI, machine learning and large-scale genetic datasets to transform preventative healthcare and drug discovery.
Together, these investments aim to show how pension capital can help category-defining UK companies move from scientific leadership to commercial scale.
Scottish Widows chief investment officer Peter Fitzgerald said: “We believe pension savers should be able to benefit from the growth and innovation taking place across the UK.
“Our proposition helps connect our workplace pension customers’ long-term savings with some of Britain’s most innovative, high-growth companies, giving them access to investment opportunities that have traditionally been available mainly to institutional investors.”
Nalaka De Silva, Head of Private Markets Solutions, Aberdeen Investments, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with IP Group to manage this portfolio on behalf of the Scottish Widows Growth LTAF.
“The UK has no shortage of scientific excellence and does not lack entrepreneurship or talent to develop globally relevant ideas. What competitive companies have lacked is sufficient pools of patient domestic capital to help them expand and grow.
“This partnership turns intent into investment: We are extremely proud to deliver one of the first active allocations by a UK DC workplace pension proposition to back British science and technology companies for the long-term benefit of pension members.”
IP Group CEO Greg Smith said: “Our partnership with Aberdeen Investments and Scottish Widows on this growth fund will connect long-term pension capital with world-class British innovation.
“We are helping create a pathway for millions of pension savers to participate in the value created by the next generation of technology leaders.
“It’s fantastic that the fund’s first UK investments span such important areas including quantum computing, clean energy and healthcare innovation, sectors where the UK has the potential to build globally significant companies.
“We believe this is only the beginning of a much larger opportunity to unlock growth, support economic prosperity and deliver attractive long-term returns for savers.”
IP Group is the most active UK-based, early-stage science and technology investor, having backed high-profile companies including Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc, Hinge Health, Featurespace, First Light Fusion, Hysata, and Oxa.
Scottish Widows is part of Lloyds Banking Group and has £300 billion in total assets under administration.
Aberdeen Group manages and administers £580 billion of client and customer assets across its three core business — interactive investor, Adviser and Investments.