Episode summary
Episode 362: Richard Law-Deeks, CEO of LGPS Central: Change for Good - The Promise of Partnership
The Fiftyfaces Podcast
· · 26 min · Hosts: Aoifinn Devitt · Guests: Richard Law-Deeks
Summary
Richard Law-Deeks traces his path into pensions from humanities studies, a family background in public service, and an early attraction to work with purpose. He explains that local government pension work appealed because it could use capital markets to support real people, and that later roles in the private sector and at Royal Mail broadened his view of governance, global pensions, and major transitions.
A major theme is the structural change now facing LGPS Central as it grows past 100 billion pounds in assets under management. Richard argues that the new regime should be approached with simplicity, transparency, and clearer separation of roles between the pool, the funds, and independent oversight. He sees FC authorization, operational resilience, and stronger senior-manager accountability as a higher standard that will improve culture and discipline.
He is optimistic about pooling because it can combine scale with local connection, and he says the new framework should help funds pursue responsible investment and local investing with more clarity. The discussion also turns personal: he credits mentors, coaching, and his parents’ example, and says leadership for him means staying close to the purpose of serving members while balancing the demands of a fast-changing organization and family life.
Key takeaways
- Richard Law-Deeks says LGPS Central's expansion to over 100 billion pounds brings a fundamentally different operating model, not just incremental growth.
- He argues that pooling can preserve local connection while delivering the scale and professionalism of a larger asset manager.
- He views FC authorization and senior-manager accountability as burdensome but worthwhile because they raise standards on compliance, ethics, and culture.
- He expects the new governance framework to clarify the separate roles of partner funds as shareholders and clients, which should strengthen accountability.
- He says coaching has been a major career catalyst and would prioritize it even over a pay rise or bigger bonus.
Notable quotes
“I really believe in simplicity and transparency. I think it's really helpful if everyone understands what their roles and accountabilities are”
“We are going from when I arrived it was just under 30 billion in assets under management to over 100 billion”
“just just get out there, just experience it, and you've got a better chance of being in the right place at the right time”
How the episode opens
You know, I was very late to fatherhood. I've got a six-year-old and it's really important to me to make sure I'm there for those key moments with my son. I make a real conscious effort to do school runs and drop offs and I don't excuse myself from those just cuz I'm the CEO of 100 billion pound asset manager.
I'm Ethan Devit and welcome to the 50 Faces podcast. A podcast committed to revealing the richness and diversity of the world of investment by focusing on its people and their stories. I'm joined today by Richard Ladik who is chief executive officer of LGPS Central which following its current expansion is responsible for over 100 billion pounds in pulled local authority pension fund assets.
Prior to joining LGBS Central in 2024, he was CEO of the Royal Male Pensions Trustees Limited and prior to that held a series of financial roles mostly within the local government sphere. Welcome, Richard. Thanks for joining me today.
Thank you for having me. — Well, that bio I just described talked through a little bit of your background and how you came to this role, but I'd love to go back a little in terms of what drew you into the pensions arena in the first place and the local government finance area before that.
Brilliant. I'll give you the long version because I think that's what you're asking for. So I think like most people I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I had no grand plan and for a time I even toyed with the idea of becoming a nurse. Both my parents were nurses but I made the decision not to do that and I went to university and I did what interested me which was humanities.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- local authority pensions
- pooled pension assets
- pension fund governance
- leadership and coaching
- public service and organizational change
Companies and tickers mentioned
- BEN
- LGPS Central
- Royal Mail Pensions Trustees Ltd
- Benefit Street Partners
- Franklin Templeton
- PIMCO
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The Fiftyfaces Podcast, this episode and its artwork belong to Aoifinn Devitt. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
