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David Barnett FIA

Partner and Senior Investment Consultant

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David’s experience is in leading investment and capital allocation advice to institutional investors.

By helping clients define their goals, understand risks and considering creative solutions, David delivers long-term, sustainable outcomes by building individual relationships with key stakeholders.

Significant experience:

  • Risk transfer: including traditional bulk annuities – providing investment and strategic advice to the largest transaction of 2021 among others – as well as alternative risk transfer advice on capital-backed journey plans and longevity swaps (including one of the first longevity swap to buy-in novations).
  • Investment governance: supporting schemes reassess their governance arrangements, from a review of a multi-£bn banking scheme's investment decision-making and internal set up, through to assessing platform options for smaller schemes to bring scale.
  • Risk management: helping clients reshape their risk profile and budget through equity options strategies, diversification of risk sources by reviewing underlying return-drivers and exposure, and considering alternative liquidity frameworks (e.g. parent company loans or investment bank financing facilities over illiquid assets).
  • DB end-game: "re-returning" low risk investment strategies to add return without compromising risk and planning for run-on over the medium term, considering suitable risk buffers and surplus return triggers.
"I believe high-quality pension investing can truly make a difference to the lives of the members and asset owners we serve by delivering superior outcomes. I seek to bring enthusiasm for that mission to my role. I do not believe in dogmatic or unilateral decision making. My approach is collaborative, focusing on ensuring all stakeholders know what the key decisions are and why they are taken. Often a failure to understand, is because of a failure to communicate and I do not believe there is a ‘one-size fits all’ solution."
David Barnett

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Career

David joined Barnett Waddingham in December 2021, having previously spent 10 years within WTW's investment team (and was a pensions actuary elsewhere before that). David is a Partner in our investment consulting team and leads our Alternative Risk Transfer group, looking at alternative capital solutions.

Memberships

  • Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (since 2013)
  • Association of Consulting Actuaries – Investment Committee representative 2020-21

Interests

David took up running a couple of years ago and recently completed his first official half marathon. He is also a keen walker, whether that’s tackling the Yorkshire Three Peaks or cajoling a small puppy.

He is an avid motor sports fan who keenly follows Formula One and is also learning to play golf.

David also enjoys meals out for which he has something of a Henry VIII-style reputation.