Ruston Smith

Ruston
Smith

Chairman, 
Tesco Pension Fund

GOOD Fellows AWARD Recipient, 2024
GOOD Fellows #2024

Ruston has 40 years experience in the pension fund and investment industry. He was the former Group Pensions, Insurable Risk and a People Director at Tesco and CEO of Tesco Pension Investment Ltd – FCA approved in house investment manager. Ruston is now the Chair of the Tesco Pension Fund (DB and DC) and FCA approved Tesco Pension Investment Ltd, Independent and Chair of the Funding and Investment Committee for the BAE Pension Fund, Non Exec Chair of JP Morgan Asset Management Ltd (UK and EMEA), Non Exec Chair of Smart Pension Ltd, Non Exec Chair of the Asset Management Exchange ICAV, Non Exec Chair of Guiide, Non Exec Chair of the Pensions Management Institute and Chair of GroceryAid, an industry charity. Ruston was on the DC Patient Capital Steering Committee and the Bank of England, Treasury and FCA’s Steering Group on Investment in Productive Finance and now sits on the Expert Panel for the British Venture Capital Association. He was a former Chair of the PLSA, Co Chair of the DWP’s 2017 Auto Enrolment Review Board, led the Simpler Annual Statement initiative (now a regulatory requirement), chaired the cross regulator and industry ‘Standardised Assumptions Group’, led the Members’ Costs and Charges Initiative and co-leads the Lifetime Savings Initiative. MBA with distinction and a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute, the Chartered Management Institute and the Royal Society of Arts. 

Lakshmi Narayanan,
Chairman, Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute

Ruston has 40 years of experience in the pension fund and investment industry. He was the former Group Pensions, Insurable Risk and a People Director at Tesco and CEO of Tesco Pension Investment Ltd – FCA-approved in-house investment manager. Ruston is now the Chair of the Tesco Pension Fund (DB and DC) and FCA-approved Tesco Pension Investment Ltd, Independent, and Chair of the Funding and Investment Committee for the BAE Pension Fund, Non-Exec Chair of JP Morgan Asset Management Ltd (UK and EMEA), Non-Exec Chair of Smart Pension Ltd, Non-Exec Chair of the Asset Management Exchange ICAV, Non-Exec Chair of Guiide, Non-Exec Chair of the Pensions Management Institute and Chair of GroceryAid, an industry charity. Ruston was on the DC Patient Capital Steering Committee and the Bank of England, Treasury, and FCA’s Steering Group on Investment in Productive Finance and now sits on the Expert Panel for the British Venture Capital Association. He was a former Chair of the PLSA, Co-Chair of the DWP’s 2017 Auto Enrolment Review Board, led the Simpler Annual Statement initiative (now a regulatory requirement), chaired the cross regulator and industry ‘Standardised Assumptions Group’, led the Members’ Costs and Charges Initiative and co-leads the Lifetime Savings Initiative. MBA with distinction and a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute, the Chartered Management Institute, and the Royal Society of Arts. 

She also serves on the board of GoLogiq, Inc. (OTC: GOLQ), a U.5.-based global provider of fintech and consumer data analytics. Candice is an Advisory Board member of the Family Office Association, a global mem­bership organization exclusive to single family offices and families of significant wealth, as well as a com­mittee member of the 1640 Society that caters to single family offices & ultra high net worth families. Candice was a member of the Board of Directors of I2BF Venture Fund II, a FSA regulated clean tech venture capital firm with offices in Dubai, New York, & London as well as an Advisory Board member of The Luxury Fund. 

She was also advisor to New Frontier Bio, a private investment arm of the Kennedy family, which co-founds, develops, and finances early stage innova­tive healthcare companies that have the potential to achieve validation, by transforming millions of lives and creating highly valuable businesses.