
BESTrustees is delighted to announce the recruitment of Russell Baird as a Professional Trustee. Russell is a qualified actuary with over 30 years’ pensions and investment experience and joined on 16 September. He will be based in Edinburgh.
Russell joins BESTrustees from Aegon Asset Management in Edinburgh where he was Head of UK Investment Solutions. His appointment is part of our strategy to expand even further BESTrustees’ visibility and presence in Scotland. Russell was attracted by BESTrustees’ unique offering of unbiased and independent expert advice and is excited to be able to bring his breadth and depth of pensions and investment experience to support the increasing challenges inherent in managing modern pension schemes.
Russell began initially as a pension scheme actuary & senior consultant, then took on client director and senior investment positions at blue-chip companies including Scottish Amicable, Prudential and Aon Consulting before moving to Aegon Asset Management. An experienced client director and chair, he has led and delivered key actuarial and investment projects, including scheme restructures, sale & purchase, risk management and governance projects for a diverse portfolio of clients ranging from £1m to more than £10bn.
“We are delighted to welcome a pensions professional like Russell to our ranks of professional trustees. This is a very dynamic time for the professional trustee market, especially for the truly independent conflict-free firms like BESTrustees. We have always had a strong presence in Scotland, but Russell will help us consolidate and grow our footprint there even more.”
Ann Rigby, Chair of BESTrustees“I am thrilled to be joining BESTrustees at such a crucial time. Scotland is an exciting market for pensions and my goal is to communicate BESTrustees’ exceptional reputation to the industry here and to ensure we are in the strongest possible position to help schemes support the delivery of positive outcomes to their members.”
Russell Baird
Latest Insights

BESTrustees leads successful buy-in transaction for the Carr’s Group Pension Scheme
The Trustees of the Carr’s Group Pension Scheme, chaired by Rachel Tranter of BESTrustees, have completed a c.£44m buy-in transaction with Aviva to cover 216 pensioner and 56 deferred members of the Scheme. Mercer acted as lead transaction adviser using its streamlined broking process. “I am delighted to have guided the trustees through the transaction process to achieve a successful outcome which further increases the security of our members’ benefits. This transaction was very much a collaborative teamworking effort involving the trustees, the Company (Carr’s Group plc), the insurer and our professional advisers all carrying out important roles throughout the …

BESTrustees and LCP complete c.£50m full buy-in for the Low & Bonar Group Retirement Benefits Scheme
The Trustee of the Low & Bonar Group Retirement Benefits Scheme, chaired by Hugh Creasy of BESTrustees, and Just Group plc, have completed a c.£50m full buy-in of all remaining uninsured members of the Low & Bonar GRBS. This marked the final step on the Scheme’s derisking journey. LCP acted as lead transaction adviser using its streamlined buy-in and buy-out service. The Scheme already held two existing pensioner buy-in policies, the first of which was secured with JUST back in 2015. LCP used its streamlined buy-in and buy-out service and the previous pensioner buy-ins were also completed through this service, …