# Milk Pension Fund Milk Pension Fund is a Pension Fund based in Salford, United Kingdom. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Pension Fund - **Headquarters:** Salford, United Kingdom - **Region:** Europe - **Address:** Salford, United Kingdom - **Founded:** 2019 - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/milkcapital ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About The Milk Pension Fund operates as a multi-employer UK defined-benefit scheme, providing retirement income to workers from its sponsoring industrial partners. Genus plc, the FTSE 250 animal genetics company, is the dominant employer, accounting for the vast majority of the fund's obligations. Dairy farmer cooperative First Milk Limited also participates, reflecting the fund's roots in the consolidation of Britain's dairy industry retirement provision. Formerly, National Milk Records plc sponsored the scheme until its exit in mid-2017. The fund articulates its investment strategy through a publicly filed Statement of Investment Principles, signaling a mature liability-driven posture. Known allocations span a diversified growth mandate managed by consultancy Aon, a dedicated property multi-manager fund, and a segregated Schroders property portfolio targeting commercial assets across the United Kingdom and Europe. This three-pillar structure — a growth pool, a pooled real estate allocation, and a direct segregated mandate — replaces a pure gilts-matching approach with return-seeking and inflation-hedging components. Governance sits with a trustee board, where Secretary Richard Thornton provides continuity. Former Chair of Trustees Carol Woodley led the board before stepping down. The fund's structural identity flows from its fragmented employer base. With Genus as the dominant covenant — and NMR having formally departed — the scheme operates under a finite-purpose remit typical of UK defined-benefit arrangements: investing to meet accrued benefits rather than to grow perpetuity capital. That makes its posture more defensive than a go-anywhere endowment, but more return-hungry than a fully insured buyout vehicle. The Aon delegated relationships create an outsourced CIO dynamic uncommon in smaller European sub-sovereign pools. ## Sectors - Real Estate ## People - Richard Thornton — Secretary to the Trustee - Carol Woodley — Former Chair of Trustees ## Questions ### Who runs investment decisions at the Milk Pension Fund? The trustee board oversees strategy, but operational investment decisions are largely delegated. Aon acts as the outsourced investment provider, managing the fund's growth strategy and property multi-manager fund. Schroders manages a segregated commercial property portfolio on its behalf. Richard Thornton serves as Secretary to the Trustee. ### How is the Milk Pension Fund related to Genus plc? Genus plc is the principal sponsoring employer of the Milk Pension Fund and accounts for roughly 86% of the scheme's liabilities. This makes the FTSE 250 animal genetics firm the dominant covenant underpinning the fund, while First Milk Limited remains a smaller participating employer. ### What investment structure does the fund use? The fund deploys capital through a three-part structure: an Aon-managed growth strategy targeting diversified return-seeking assets, a property multi-manager fund also run by Aon, and a segregated commercial property portfolio managed by Schroders with a United Kingdom and European remit. ### Does the fund participate in direct real estate or only through managers? The Milk Pension Fund gains real estate exposure through both pooled and segregated channels. The Aon property multi-manager fund provides diversified pooled access, while the segregated Schroders mandate allows for direct commercial property holdings across the UK and Europe. ### What is the Occupational Pensions Defence Union connection? The Milk Pension Fund is a member of the OPDU, a specialist body providing legal and strategic defense to UK pension schemes. Richard Thornton, the fund's Secretary to the Trustee, serves on the OPDU Advisory Council, giving the fund direct representation in discussions around covenant risk and scheme restructuring. ### How are the fund's liabilities distributed across employers? Genus plc carries the dominant share at roughly 86%. First Milk Limited is a continuing participating employer. National Milk Records plc exited the scheme in 2017, which required a cessation valuation and contributed to the fund's gradual consolidation toward its principal sponsor. ## Related profiles - [Militello Wealth Management](https://altss.com/profile/militello-wealth-management) - [Milken Family Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/milken-family-foundation) --- Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/milk-pension-fund Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology