Swapnil Katkar named partner in EY UK pensions consulting team
Big Four firm EY has announced the appointment of Swapnil Katkar as a new partner. He will now lead bulk purchase annuity and capital markets solutions within EY’s pensions consulting business.
Paul Kitson, leader of EY’s UK pensions consulting team, commented, “I’m delighted to welcome Swapnil, who brings strong experience in investment banking, pensions advisory and risk transfer, to further expand our work in this space."
According to Kitson, the move allows EY to handle growing demand in the space, as the UK BPA and pension solutions market continues to grow. He noted that with many schemes currently well-funded, this growth is likely to accelerate in the short-term – leading to some smaller schemes finding it challenging to engage insurers, and larger schemes face material complexities, such as navigating illiquid assets. EY is playing an important role in making sure all schemes have access to all options, and supports schemes with outcomes from £2m to over £2 billion in size.
Based in London, Swapnil Katkar will now lead a team of 15 consultants across the UK to grow EY’s advisory and transaction solutions for pension funds and sponsors, with a focus on buy-ins and buy-outs, captive insurance, reinsurance, and illiquid asset transactions. As part of his role, he also joins EY’s UK pensions leadership team.
A previous partner at rival PwC UK, Katkar formerly led the pension risk transfer and advised schemes offering their, ranging from small to multi-billion pound clients in size. Prior to this, he spent over a decade at Citi within its investment banking division covering insurance and pension clients.
Katkar added, “EY has a strong and growing ecosystem across structuring, life insurance, pensions, and covenant advisory, and I’m pleased to join this team at a time when the pensions and insurance sectors are seeing unprecedented levels of market activity. Solutions that cater to schemes of all sizes are essential, and I look forward to working with EY’s clients to continue to enhance the financial security of pension scheme members while supporting investment in the UK economy.”