Railpen, the investment manager for the £34bn UK railways pensions schemes, has announced the promotion of Lewis Vanstone to head of infrastructure.
Vanstone, who joined Railpen in 2019, has played a central role in expanding Railpen’s infrastructure portfolio across renewable energy, energy storage, waste collection, hospitals and other essential infrastructure projects – with a steady shift from core assets into higher-returning, earlier-stage growth infrastructure.
His appointment, said Railpen, reflects the organisations commitment to delivering long-term, sustainable returns for the 350,000 members of the railways pension schemes.
Railpen has continued to increase its allocation to infrastructure, an asset class that does often provide resilient cash flows, inflation protection, and long-duration assets, which closely align with the needs of the schemes.
The plans is for Vanstone to lead Railpen’s infrastructure team as it deepens its presence in renewable energy and essential services infrastructure, including the expansion of key collaborations – such as those with AGR Power and Constantine Energy Storage, while exploring new opportunities that support the transition to a low carbon economy.
Anna Rule, director of real assets and private markets, at Railpen said: “This appointment reflects our belief in the importance of the asset class – not only in delivering secure and sustainable outcomes for our members – but with wider-reaching environmental, societal and economic benefits.”
Vanstone added: “My aims within this role are to build upon our well-established infrastructure capability, diversify our infrastructure holdings, further develop our co-investment approach, and ultimately deliver resilient infrastructure returns to secure our members’ future.” Railpen currently allocates around £1.2bn to infrastructure, with a combination of direct and indirect investments.
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