Gavin Markham FIA
Gavin is our Head of Bulk Annuity consulting. He also provides advice to a range of corporate clients on defined benefit (DB) pension issues including scheme funding, benefit design, risk reduction exercises, M&A and accounting matters.
Gavin leads the specialist bulk annuity team, advising on all aspects of buy-outs and buy-ins, from initial feasibility assessment and scheme preparation, through to price negotiations and transaction execution.
His extensive experience includes advising a wide range of UK & multi-national businesses, both as a consultant and as the in-house actuary for a global FTSE100 company. This has helped him develop a clear, practical approach to delivering advice to his clients.
Significant experience:
- provided bulk annuity advice to both trustees and employers, with a number of transaction processes in excess of £100m and also involving both traditional and medically underwritten approaches
- ongoing advice to range of UK and multinational businesses on funding issues, including a FTSE100 on the financing of its £8bn pension scheme
- support in respect of M&A activity and corporate restructuring, for example, advising a syndicate of banks on the impact of pensions issues for a UK business in relation to the refinancing of a £500m loan
- advice on benefit design changes, in one case resulting in significant savings (>£20m pa) in regular pension costs
Comment & Insight
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Research The £24 billion bulk annuity market: an upward trend
Bulk Annuities: Where next in the de-risking journey? The bulk annuity market hit new heights in 2018. For the first time in history pension scheme buy-in and buy-out transactions exceeded £20bn.
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Blog post Growing demand – how well are you positioned?
The final transaction figures for 2017 confirmed total buy-in and buy-out business volumes have exceeded £10bn, with a combined market figure of £12.2bn for the year. Head of bulk annuities, Gavin Markham explores.
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Webinar Webinar - Could a buy-in or buy-out be right for your scheme?
Are bulk annuities a potential option for your scheme? It could be the right time to consider a transaction.
Career
Gavin graduated from Bristol University with a PhD in Physical Chemistry and qualified as a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in 1999. He has over 15 years of consulting experience, including as an in-house corporate actuary for the FTSE100 company BAE Systems (over £20bn pension liabilities), joining Barnett Waddingham in 2012.
Interests
Outside of the office Gavin is a keen footballer and cyclist, although any spare time now comes under competing pressure from his two young daughters!