The UK National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) today announced Mike Weston as Chief Executive of the Pensions Infrastructure Platform Ltd (PIP). 

Mike has worked in the UK institutional investment industry for over 25 years. From 2009 Mike was the in-house Chief Investment Officer for the DMGT plc pension schemes with responsibility for investment strategy, risk and the performance of the scheme's broad range of external asset managers. In this role Mike led investment into multiple infrastructure funds across core and opportunistic strategies in the UK, US and Europe.

Previously, Mike worked as an Investment Director in the City managing institutional equity portfolios at asset managers such as Hermes and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.

In 2013 Mike was appointed as an independent Trustee of the Institute of Cancer research Pension Scheme and he has served on the Board and DB Council of the NAPF.

Mike holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management and graduated from Cambridge University with an MA in Natural Sciences.

Commenting on the appointment, Mike Weston, Chief Executive, PIP, said:

"The PIP has made a great start and provided UK pension funds with significant access to high quality infrastructure investment at an attractive price. This new role is a great challenge - I am very much looking forward to accelerating the PIP's progress and building a world-class infrastructure business for pension funds by pension funds."

Commenting on the appointment, Joanne Segars, Chief Executive, NAPF, said:

"PIP now has nearly a third of a billion pounds worth of investment committed to its first appointed investment manager and over £200m of this is already funding 41 separate infrastructure assets.  This is exactly the right time to appoint a Chief Executive and Mike's experience in leading pension scheme investments, including extensive investment in infrastructure, makes him ideally suited to this role. I am delighted to announce his appointment."

Chris Hitchen, Chief Executive of founding investor Railpen, said:

"This appointment is great news for the PIP, its founding investors and all future investors. Mike's expertise and focus will enable PIP to fulfil our vision as a place where pension funds can gain access to the infrastructure investments they need on their own terms."

The appointment of Mike Weston as Chief Executive of the PIP is effective immediately.

The PIP Ltd is a not-for-profit, infrastructure fund, by pension funds and for pension funds, aligned to the long-term interests of the UK pension funds who will be its main investors. This is the first time UK pension funds have combined to create such an entity in the UK. Key features of the PIP are:

• Target size of £2bn
• Low fees, c50bps
• Low risk, the PIP is expected to invest at the low-risk end of the infrastructure asset spectrum
• Long-term cash returns of RPI+2-5% (i.e. as a liability match)
• In February 2014 PIP launched its first fund, PPP Equity PIP LP, which is managed by Dalmore Capital.
• PIP has completed its first investment in April 2014, acquiring part of a 49.9% stake in a holding company for private finance initiatives (PFIs), Interserve PFI Holding, from Interserve pension fund.