UK's Nest hires new CIO

National Employment Savings Trust has promoted its deputy investment chief to the top investment job.

Elizabeth Fernando has been promoted to chief investment officer of the £30 billion pension fund.

She replaces Mark Fawcett who has held the role for 14 years.

Fernando joined Nest in November 2020 ad elevated to deputy chief investment officer one year late

Previously, she served as head of equities and deputy chief investment officer at the 75 billion pounds Universities Superannuation Scheme. She left her job in 2020 after USS moved half o its public equity portfolio from traditional stock picking and hired Blackrock to oversee the assets

Meanwhile, Fawcett will continue on with the fund as the chief executive of Nest Invest, the pension scheme's FCA-authorised subsidiary, and a member of Nest Corporation's executive committee.

He will be responsible for the overall management of Nest's investment operation while Fernando will now lead the day-to-day implementation of its investment strategy.

"At Nest, we face the challenge of implementing a sophisticated investment strategy while managing the growing needs of a £30 billion investment business," said Nest chief executive Helen Dean.

"Liz continues to demonstrate what excellent leadership skills she brings to the smooth running of Nest's investment team.

"I'm delighted to have both her and Mark available to Nest, using their collective expertise to help guide our members' investments through the difficult markets we're anticipating over the coming years."

Fernando said she is honoured to be following in the footsteps of Fawcett and excited to continue working with him.

"I want to empower the team to keep looking for innovative investment approaches," she said, adding that Nest is at its best when it's pushing the envelope of how we can best serve our members.

Fawcett said it will feel strange after 14 years to no longer be Nest's investment chief.

"But I know Liz will do a fantastic job and I'm looking forward to focusing more of my time on evolving the long-term strategy of Nest Invest."