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HarperCollins Pension Fund
The HarperCollins Pension Fund operates as the trustee-governed vehicle for the HarperCollins Pension and Life Assurance Scheme, established in 1973 to serve...
HarperCollins Pension Fund
The HarperCollins Pension Fund operates as the trustee-governed vehicle for the HarperCollins Pension and Life Assurance Scheme, established in 1973 to serve the UK-based employees of the publishing house. The fund's board includes long-serving HarperCollins UK executives — General Counsel Simon Dowson-Collins sits alongside directors Edmund Alexander Kielbasiewicz, David Peter Alford, Lucy Ring Vanderbilt, and David Oliver Houston. Ultimate sponsorship flows from News Corp, which acquired HarperCollins in 1989 and now stands as the scheme's ultimate parent and covenant backer. Investment oversight is delegated to Mercer, which manages the scheme's assets across a diversified institutional portfolio. Holdings span global equities, fixed income, real estate through Mercer's Irish and UK-domiciled fund vehicles, and alternative credit — a standard corporate pension mix executed through a single outsourced CIO relationship. The fund maintains no direct co-investment program. Its posture is conservative: the board meets to monitor liability hedging and funding ratios rather than to originate deals. The scheme participates in the 30% Club through Mercer's investor membership, signaling a commitment to boardroom gender diversity across its public-equity sleeves. Beyond investment governance, HarperCollins channels corporate philanthropic activity through The Literacy Project, a separate charitable initiative that partners with the National Literacy Trust — distinct from the pension fund's fiduciary mandate but reflecting the sponsor's publishing identity. The fund's structural differentiator is its isolation — it is a single-employer scheme backed by a FTSE-parent balance sheet, operating not as a public fund but as a closed corporate trust. This architecture means its funding negotiations and asset allocation decisions remain private bilateral matters between the trustee board and News Corp, with no mandatory public reporting on individual holdings or manager selection.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1973
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
Glasgow
Corporate office
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Principals
Edmund Alexander Kielbasiewicz
Director
David Peter Alford
Director
Lucy Ring Vanderbilt
Director
David Oliver Houston
Director
Simon Dowson-Collins
General Counsel and Director
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who acts as the investment manager for the HarperCollins Pension Fund?
Mercer is the delegated investment manager, overseeing asset allocation and fund selection across public and private markets. The trustee board, which includes HarperCollins UK directors, monitors performance and funding levels but does not directly originate investments. This outsourced-CIO model is common among UK corporate pension schemes of its size.
What is the relationship between the HarperCollins Pension Fund and News Corp?
News Corp is the ultimate parent company of HarperCollins Publishers Limited, the scheme's sponsoring employer. This means News Corp's balance sheet underpins the employer covenant — the legal obligation to fund any deficit — which gives the scheme a backstop most independent pension funds lack. The scheme's funding negotiations are therefore conducted privately between the trustee board and News Corp.
Does the HarperCollins Pension Fund invest directly in private companies or venture capital?
No. The fund accesses alternatives through pooled Mercer fund vehicles rather than making direct private investments or co-investments. Its reported holdings include the Mercer Funds Portfolio in Ireland and the UK, which provides exposure to diversified multi-asset strategies including real estate and credit, but the scheme does not operate as a direct LP in individual private funds.
Is the HarperCollins Pension Fund open to new members?
The HarperCollins Pension and Life Assurance Scheme is a closed defined-benefit arrangement for legacy HarperCollins UK employees. Like most corporate final-salary schemes in the UK, it is likely closed to new entrants and to future accrual for many members, though the exact closure dates are not publicly disclosed. The scheme's focus is now entirely on paying accrued benefits and managing the existing asset pool.
How is the HarperCollins Pension Fund governed?
A trustee board composed of HarperCollins UK directors governs the scheme. The board includes General Counsel Simon Dowson-Collins and other senior executives who serve as company-nominated or member-nominated trustees. This governance structure keeps fiduciary decisions tightly aligned with the sponsoring employer's corporate leadership.
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