Welcome to Allocator’s Edge, a Value Perspective podcast mini-series where we will be engaging in conversations with some of the world’s top capital allocators. In this everchanging landscape of heightened inflation and interest rates, we aim to unravel how and why capital allocators make the decisions that they do. Join us as we explore the nuances between healthcare foundations, examining the impact of inflation on endowments and the strategic choices between share buybacks and dividends for pension schemes. In this miniseries we aim to shed light on the inner workings of capital allocation, helping both investment teams and listeners gain a better understanding of mandates, global interplay and the intricate dance between strategy and reality. New episodes of the Allocator’s Edge will be released on alternating Thursdays.

In this episode we are joined by Chetan Ghosh. Chetan joined Schroders in 2022 as part of the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) Solutions team. You may recall our discussion on OCIO from our recent episode with Jim Dunn in the US. Today we’ll chat with Chetan about what that role looks like in the UK, including his aim to be the provider of choice for OCIO and Fiduciary Management Services. Before joining Schroders, Chetan was the CIO of Centrica’s pension scheme arrangements and the firm’s CIO for 12 years. There, his role covered investment strategy considerations, asset class and manager research, and liaison with investment advisors. Previous to Centrica, Chetan developed a fiduciary management offering at an asset manager, following his start as a pensions actuary. In this episode, Juan and Chetan sat down to discuss what is an OCIO; the challenges of the UK pension industry and all of its different schemes; caps on fees; runs to passives and the newest entrant on the scene – alternatives; how the gilts crisis impacts the industry and finally the impact of inflation.