- Aviva Investors expanded its Private Markets investment specialist team with senior hires from Barings and Legal & General plus internal promotions.
- The build-out targets rising client demand for UK/European real estate and private debt as Aviva scales and differentiates its private markets platform.
- Aviva’s Private Markets unit manages over £40bn and ~140 staff across real estate, infrastructure, private debt, venture/strategic capital and natural capital.
- The move supports DC-focused offerings like “My Future Vision,” which plans to allocate 20–25% to private markets via specialist-manager partnerships.
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Aviva Investors’ recent hires mark a targeted enhancement of its private markets specialist front office—bringing in senior figures with deep experience in asset classes in high demand. By recruiting from Barings and Legal & General, Aviva is acquiring expertise not only in European real estate sectors (including residential UK real estate) but also in tailoring portfolios at the equity end of private markets. This suggests a pipeline of opportunity in equity-oriented private real estate and differentiated sources of value beyond core real estate debt.
The context for these hires is a broader trend: institutional investor disclosures and Aviva’s own data show growing allocations into private markets. Aviva’s 2025 Private Markets Study of 500 institutional participants revealed that average allocations rose to 11.5% globally, with over 56% of institutions assigning at least 10% of their portfolios to private markets. These allocations are being driven by desire for diversification and illiquidity premium, particularly in regions like Europe where opportunity sets may be less saturated.
Parallel to team expansion, Aviva has developed product and client delivery vehicles, notably “My Future Vision,” a defined contribution (DC) default strategy slated to invest 20-25% in private markets, selecting from private equity, infrastructure, real estate, and private debt via third-party specialists including StepStone, KKR, Apollo, Invesco, among others. This is closely aligned with UK policy goals (Mansion House Compact & Accord) emphasizing greater private market exposure in DC schemes by 2030.
Operationally, Aviva’s Private Markets platform is well established, with over £40 billion AUM, a VC/strategic capital capability under Ben Luckett, and a workforce of about 140 across four locations. The integration of the venture capital team and development of LTAFs shows Aviva is building both scale and structural capacity to support increasingly diverse investor needs.
Strategically, these developments suggest Aviva is positioning to win share in the DC pensions market, where products that provide private markets exposure are becoming differentiators. However, challenges remain—including illiquidity risks, valuation uncertainties, transaction costs, and finding suitably scaled opportunities in real estate and private debt. How Aviva manages dispersion of return, fee structure, and alignment with clients during periods of stress will be considerable tests as allocations grow.
Supporting Notes
- Callum Fraser appointed Head of Private Markets Equity at Aviva Investors; came from Barings and previously Legal & General Investment Management.
- Kevin Au joins as Senior Investment Specialist for Real Estate; joined from Legal & General, where he covered build-to-rent and UK residential real estate.
- Aviva Investors’ Private Markets division manages over £40 billion in assets and employs ~140 professionals across real estate, infrastructure, private debt, venture & strategic capital, natural capital.
- In Aviva’s 2025 Private Markets Study, institutional investors currently allocate on average 11.5% to Private Markets (up from 10.5%) and 56% of respondents allocate at least 10% of portfolios to Private Markets (up from 48%).
- “My Future Vision” default DC strategy to commit 20-25% of assets to private markets, via global managers like StepStone, KKR, Apollo, Invesco, supporting UK’s policy goals under Mansion House Compact & Accord.
- Aviva has restructured its Private Markets offering to include a dedicated VC & Strategic Capital capability led by Ben Luckett; oversees over £450 million in VC commitments and initial team of five employees transferred internally.