He said that in the UK just 9pc of pension funds are invested in these assets, which is far less than the 23pc equivalent in the G7.
This has left UK savers worse off than peers abroad, Mr Eakins said: “If you look over the period from 2011 to 2021, UK savers were worse off by about 1.2pc per annum than savers in Australia and Canada.
“It is detrimental to our most important stakeholder, which is our 12m customers. It’s also detrimental to broader economic growth and the outlook for the UK.”
His comments chime with the strategy being pursued by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who is trying to use Mansion House reforms to unlock cash from pension funds to invest in British businesses.
As one of eight signatories to his Mansion House agreement in July, Phoenix vowed to invest 5pc of assets, the equivalent of £12bn, in start-ups and private equity over the next six years.
However, this marks a small step in reversing a much wider trend across the pensions industry, as funds have been steadily withdrawing from British shares over the past three decades,
In 1992, UK pension funds held 32.4pc of British shares, according to the Office for National Statistics. In 2022, this proportion hit a record low of just 1.6pc.
Economists and business leaders have warned this means there is not enough cash to boost growth among companies.
Billionaire Tory donor Lord Spencer said: “It is a tragedy at one level and a disgrace at another level. It will take 10 years to remedy even part of the damage that has been caused.”
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
