Barnett Waddingham launches ‘Lighthouse’ to enhance investment monitoring for pension schemes 

Leading professional services consultancy Barnett Waddingham today unveils Lighthouse, a new monitoring service designed to transform how pension scheme trustees and sponsors track and manage their investment strategy.  

Lighthouse is a smarter, more responsive way to monitor investments. The service goes beyond static reporting cycles, focussing on ongoing oversight, empowering trustees and decision-makers to make informed decisions quickly.

More than online reporting and built around regular manager data feeds and BW’s proprietary Illuminate funding tracker platform, Lighthouse allows for continuous oversight of key investment metrics and enables faster, more confident decisions. 

Lighthouse replaces the traditional quarterly reporting cycle with an interactive online dashboard, alerting BW consultants when elements of a scheme’s strategy and implementation move outside pre-set tolerances.  This coverage is extensive including factors such as manager performance, asset allocation, hedging, collateral, funding, liquidity and manager ratings. 

Importantly, Lighthouse is not a substitute for advice. Consultants remain fully responsible for analysing data, interpreting alerts, and advising clients on the appropriate course of action. The system enhances the quality and timeliness of advice.

Lighthouse has been built with pension schemes in mind. Key features include: 

• Ongoing monitoring of funding level, asset allocation, manager ratings, and hedging positions.
• Push notifications to highlight areas requiring attention.
• Trustees can access current data any time via the Illuminate platform. 
• Consultants use up-to-date dashboards rather than out-of-date report packs. 

Ian Mills, Partner and Head of DB Endgame Strategy, Barnett Waddingham, said:  

“For too long, trustees have had to rely on backward-looking reports to make forward-looking decisions.

“Lighthouse brings investment monitoring into the present, delivering timely insights that are genuinely useful for decision-making.  While individual savers have benefited from real-time online tools for years, institutional investors, including pension schemes, have often lagged behind.

“Lighthouse helps close that gap and allows our clients to be more proactive, informed and in control.”