Untangling the knots

I work closely with both trustee clients and the sponsoring companies of DB pension schemes. I help establish what level of funding each client should target at various staging posts on their journey plan, in the context of their covenant underpin, and the scheme strategy for reaching full funding at their chosen end-state option. The ultimate goal is always to improve the outcomes for scheme members.

It’s a complex picture. While most schemes are now experiencing improved funding levels as interest rates rise, sponsoring companies are facing the strain of those high interest rates and inflation, reducing the level of resources they have to provide the scheme through the last leg of its journey. I encourage schemes to think creatively: ‘Are there solutions – whether insurer-provided, superfunds, or alternative solutions – that can be leveraged to help get up to full funding?’ I thrive on unravelling that knot. Each company and pension scheme’s circumstances are different, likewise the levers available.

Enhancing the culture

I’ve found it highly rewarding to be a co-chair for Cardano’s Race and Cultural Diversity Employee Resource Group.

During my time at Cardano, I’ve twice taken 12-months maternity leave to spend time with my children and visit family back in Kenya. I was the first person in the Cardano Advisory business to do that, so the company and I were both finding our feet at the start. But Cardano was very good at keeping in touch and welcoming me when I dropped in occasionally. There’s now a well-run process in place for engaging with parents on leave.

I’ve found it highly rewarding to be a co-chair for Cardano’s Race and Cultural Diversity Employee Resource Group. We’ve done some incredible things, including taking part in the cross-industry 10,000 Black Interns Programme, set up to tackle the chronic underrepresentation of black talent in certain industries. Each summer, a group of young people from minority ethnic backgrounds spend six weeks at Cardano learning what we do and listening to our stories.

We’ve also participated in the Classroom to Boardroom program which involved a number of high school students reviewing our business, evaluating our hiring processes and diversity record and then giving us a report card on where we need to improve. I had a fireside chat with some of the students involved and found it an amazing experience. Some years since, we have made good progress on that report card but there is still more to do.

Building a tight team

As a manager, I’m very loyal and protective of the people I currently manage. We all have different backgrounds, so we each bring something unique, and all have something to learn. The level you’re at is far less relevant than the way you all work together. I still need to listen to my junior colleagues who have their own experiences I can learn from. 

As a manager, I’m very loyal and protective of the people I currently manage. We all have different backgrounds, so we each bring something unique, and all have something to learn.

I’m not particularly extrovert, so I’m still working on my sales skills – situations where you have to speak to people you don’t know at industry events and explain how you can help them professionally are ones that I have to build myself up to. I’m very happy, however, in a trustee board meeting with people who understand my credentials and where I can share knowledge on how to unpick a problem. I’m a big fan of that!

Judy left Cardano in October 2024 to start a new position in the pensions industry.