Mike Smaje

Mike joined BESTrustees in 2020.  He has over 30 years’ pensions experience, as a former Scheme Actuary and Investment Consultant, as well as working for a leading investment manager. Mike specialises in funding and investment matters.

Mike currently represents BESTrustees on eight pension schemes, including six where he acts as Chair, and another two where he leads various Sub-Committees, including Investment, GMPs and Administration. The schemes range in asset size from around £100 million to over £3 billion.

Mike’s clients appreciate his leadership, technical knowledge and openness to new ideas. His style is collaborative and collegiate and he is an effective communicator at all levels – whether at senior board, fellow trustee or member level.

A benefit of Mike’s actuarial and investment background is that he can challenge the advice of consultants and work with them on a ‘peer-to-peer’ basis to develop proposals to bring to a trustee board.

He is a fully Accredited Member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT). Mike has spoken at numerous industry conferences and appears regularly as an expert panellist at industry events. Away from Pensions, Mike is an amateur painter and spends time with his family in Yorkshire.

Specialist areas: Investment, including fiduciary management; active run-on and surplus-sharing strategies; and integrated funding and investment