Funds managed by Aegon Asset Management and JP Morgan Asset Management have been granted regulatory approval by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The Financial Conduct Authority has approved two LTAFs, adding to a previous fund launched last year and managed by BlackRock.
The new funds provide exposure to private markets for the 700,000 savers in its largest default fund, the Universal Balanced Collection.
The two funds are run by Aegon Asset Management and JP Morgan Asset Management and are set to launch in the second half of this year. Carne Group is the administrator for both funds.
Aegon Asset Management’s private credit LTAF will provide diversified exposure to a range of private credit strategies, including corporate lending, fund financing, insured credit, renewables and asset-backed finance.
JP Morgan Asset Management’s bespoke strategy, meanwhile, will invest across private markets including private equity, infrastructure, transportation and forestry.
Lorna Blyth, managing director of investment proposition at Aegon, said the launches marked the culmination of the company’s work on manager selection and design, in line with its aims as a founding signatory of the 2023 Mansion House Compact.
She said: “The success in receiving authorisation for [the] LTAFs marks real progress in offering our workplace pension members access to the best available asset classes, that are in line with our objective to provide better outcomes and value.
“This tangible action is in line with government objectives and will allow members to share in the successes of growth companies, as well as the higher returns expected from other alternative investments.”
Aegon is also awaiting regulatory approval for a cornerstone investment into the British Growth Partnership, a venture and growth capital strategy designed by the British Business Bank.
“We are committed to maintaining our position as leaders in investment innovation, using our scale to access new asset classes and drive better member outcomes,” Blyth said.
LTAFs are a new type of regulated fund designed to invest in long-term, illiquid assets such as private equity, private credit, real estate or infrastructure. They are primarily structured to allow DC pension schemes to access these asset classes.
