Royal Mail Pension Plan Mandate

Press Release 15thJune 2015

Royal Mail Pension Plan appoints River and Mercantile to options mandate

River and Mercantile Group PLC (R&M) has announced that it has been appointed to manage a £700 million options mandate for Royal Mail Pension Plan.

R&M was appointed by Royal Mail Pension Plan in April and the structure of the mandate was designed and executed throughout May.

James Barham Global Head of Distribution at R&M, commented:

"This is a very significant appointment for R&M and highlights the tangible benefits of using structured equity to manage equity risks. The derivatives team at R&M has a track record of over 10 years in designing and executing structured equity solutions for clients and we are delighted to be working with Royal Mail Pension Plan and their investment adviser in developing the strategy.

We continue to see significant demand from pensions and institutional clients for structured equity to shape the profile of investment returns for defined benefit pension plans. The design and execution of the Royal Mail mandate demonstrates the Group's ability to design innovative, outcome oriented solutions for our clients, which are delivered to meet their governance requirements. This is a strong competitive advantage of the Group and continues to accelerate our growth.

Ian McKnight, Chief Investment Officer at Royal Mail Pension Plan, said:

"We are constantly seeking new ways to drive and manage returns on behalf of our members in the most efficient and risk-focused manner possible. Today's announcement is part of our ongoing risk mitigation investment strategy."

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Notes to editors:

River and Mercantile Group PLC is an advisory and investment solutions business with a broad range of services from consulting and advisory to fully delegated fiduciary management and fund management. 

The Group is focussed on creating investment solutions for institutional pension schemes, insurance and financial intermediaries and operates through four divisions; Investment Solutions encompassing both advisory and fiduciary management, Derivative Solutions providing structured equity and LDI, Equity Solutions and Multi Asset Solutions, through Dynamic Asset Allocation and other multi asset based solutions.

The Group has £20 billion under management, including £10 billion of derivatives and advises on assets in excess of £30 billion.

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