The $42.5B (£34B) Railpen is continuing to build out it private markets team with its latest move in promoting Julia Diez to head of U.K. productive assets.
In her new role, Diez will direct the strategic vision and execution of the pension manager’s productive asset portfolio, with a focus on U.K. innovation investments across real estate, infrastructure, and other private market assets, noted a press release. She’ll also collaborate closely with both public and private sector partners to promote growth, enhance value creation, and support long-term sustainability throughout Railpen’s U.K. investment activities, including working on behalf of the railways’ pension schemes Trustee.
Prior to her promotion, Diez served as a portfolio manager for private and public equities at Railpen for more than eight years, where she has managed a £750M unconstrained global equity portfolio consisting of pre-IPO companies (primary and secondary private rounds) and high-growth public equity. She also co-managed a concentrated £3B equity portfolio with a focus on large-cap fundamental growth equity opportunities.
Before joining Railpen, Diez served as head of transportation research at Berenberg. She currently serves on the boards for Gousto and TransferMate Global Payments.
“Julia’s promotion is based on her experience in investment management and her involvement in advancing innovation and growth,” said Anna Rule, director of private markets and real assets, in a news release. “She will take a leading role in supporting our strategy to achieve returns for our members and contribute to the UK economy.”
Railpen, on behalf of the railways pension schemes, has been a decades-long investor within the UK – with a holistic multi asset approach spanning infrastructure, property, and public and private equity – with over a third of AUM invested domestically.
Railpen also recently promoted Lewis Vanstone, a 13-year veteran of the pension plan, to head of infrastructure.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, the scheme’s assets had returned 2.3%, net of all fees, and over the past ten years the return has been 6.8% per annum, according to its 2024 annual report.
