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BAE Systems
The Shipbuilding Industries Pension Scheme (SIPS) originated in 1986 to serve workers across UK shipyards and marine engineering employers, absorbing several...
BAE Systems
The Shipbuilding Industries Pension Scheme (SIPS) originated in 1986 to serve workers across UK shipyards and marine engineering employers, absorbing several smaller industry funds over decades. It transferred into BAE Systems in 2013 when the defence contractor consolidated its UK pension arrangements under a single governance umbrella. The combined schemes now represent retirement obligations tied to one of Britain's largest manufacturing workforces, with Andrew Gallagher chairing the trustee board and Brad Greve, BAE's group CFO, providing sponsor-side oversight. SIPS allocates across a wide private-markets mix: direct UK commercial property, a European healthcare real estate portfolio spanning Korian-operated assets in France, Germany and Spain, and a synthetic securitisation of NatWest green loans. The fund was a founding participant in the UK's Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PiP), a collaborative vehicle that pools retirement capital from multiple schemes to invest directly in domestic infrastructure projects. The strategy blends direct co-investments, fund-of-fund commitments, and secondaries, spanning buyout, growth equity, mezzanine, timber and venture — an unusually broad mandate for a corporate defined-benefit scheme. The trustee board runs a lean operation with external managers executing most of the deployment. Cressida Hogg chairs BAE Systems plc, while Charles Woodburn leads the sponsor as CEO. SIPS is also a member of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), signaling an integration of sustainability criteria into manager selection and asset monitoring. In parallel, the BAE Systems Corporate Contributions Program channels grant-making independently of the pension assets. What distinguishes SIPS from many UK corporate schemes is its intentional blend of direct real-asset ownership and pooled alternatives, built around a founding-membership position in a dedicated infrastructure platform. The model gives the trustee board co-investor status alongside other pension funds — a governance structure that adds direct scrutiny to illiquid exposures while still relying on external managers for specialised strategies.
General information
Firm type
Corporate Investor
Year founded
1986
AUM
$2.0B–$3.0B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
Guildford
Corporate office
Guildford, United Kingdom
Principals
Charles Woodburn
CEO of BAE Systems plc
Cressida Hogg
Chair of BAE Systems plc
Brad Greve
Group Finance Director (CFO) of BAE Systems plc
Andrew Gallagher
Chair of Trustees for BAE Systems Pension Schemes
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions for BAE Systems' pension schemes?
Trustee-level governance is led by Andrew Gallagher as Chair of Trustees for BAE Systems Pension Schemes. The sponsor-side interface sits with Brad Greve, BAE Systems' Group Finance Director. Day-to-day investment management operates through external specialist managers, with the trustee board retaining oversight of asset allocation and manager selection.
What is the relationship between the Shipbuilding Industries Pension Scheme and BAE Systems?
SIPS originated in 1986 as a stand-alone industry scheme for UK shipbuilding and marine employers. It became part of BAE Systems in 2013 when the defence contractor consolidated its UK pension arrangements. BAE Systems plc now serves as the corporate sponsor, while the trustee board maintains fiduciary independence in managing scheme assets.
How does the scheme access infrastructure investments?
SIPS was a founding participant in the UK's Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PiP), a collaborative vehicle pooling retirement capital from multiple schemes to make direct infrastructure investments. This gives SIPS co-investor status alongside other UK pension funds, typically targeting long-duration, inflation-linked assets such as energy, transport, and social infrastructure within the UK.
Does the BAE Systems pension fund make direct real estate investments or use external managers?
The scheme does both. It holds a direct UK mixed-use property portfolio, and has invested directly in a European healthcare real estate portfolio of Korian-operated facilities across France, Germany and Spain. For most other asset classes — including buyout, venture, mezzanine and timber — the fund relies on external specialist managers through fund commitments and co-investment structures.
How does BAE Systems' corporate contributions program relate to the pension scheme?
The BAE Systems Corporate Contributions Program operates separately from the pension fund, as a corporate philanthropy vehicle funded from the sponsor's operating revenues. The pension assets are ring-fenced for scheme beneficiaries and are not used for charitable grant-making.
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