Ex-Insurance Boss Bronek Masojada Becomes Lord Mayor, plans to push pensions into private assets

From insurer to Lord Mayor

Bronek Masojada brings three decades in insurance to the Mansion House, including 21 years leading Hiscox Ltd. He plans to use that experience to lobby for the City as the UK searches for ways to lift growth, a central target for Prime Minister Andy Burnham's agenda. The Lord Mayor's job dates back to the 12th century and, while ceremonial, it promotes UK financial services globally and anchors civic leadership locally, making him a de facto ambassador for London's banking, insurance and broader finance industry.

His track record is steep. Masojada joined Hiscox in 1993, became chief executive in 2000, and left the role at the end of 2021. In that time, staff expanded from 200 to 3,500 and the share price climbed from about 33 pence to around £8.60, or $11.37.

"That's the value of staying and scaling," he said. Now 64, he relocated from South Africa to the UK in 1985 as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, and subsequently worked at McKinsey.

Pensions, private assets and competitiveness

Masojada wants more pension money deployed into private markets, and he intends to broadcast that the UK is the "land of opportunity." Previous Lord Mayors tried to move the needle, but progress has been slow, and some insurers and asset managers have hesitated to make bigger changes even after prior pledges organized by former Lord Mayor Nick Lyons. That means Masojada must win backing from executives who oversee company pension plans as well as the managers supervising funds, and he is ready to press the case. In an interview, Masojada said, "I don't want to hear from them that there is not enough British capital and British opportunities, when they don't know where their own capital, that they have influence over, is going."

He aims as well to dispute the notion that pension fund trustees are unable to direct capital toward British opportunities and private-market holdings, on the basis that their fiduciary obligations require allocating money wherever they judge returns to be strongest. With private assets booming globally, his question is pointed: "Tell me how you are living up to your fiduciary duty by not investing in these assets."

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City finance, policing and the pitch for stability

The City remains a heavyweight. The City's clout is evident: financial and professional services generate 12% of UK tax receipts, and roughly 700,000 commuters now enter the Square Mile daily - exceeding levels seen before the pandemic and Brexit. Funding is a live issue, though.

Under the government's so-called fair funding reforms, resources would be shifted from wealthier districts to poorer ones, potentially cutting the City's allocation. Masojada argued that allowing the City to retain a larger share of business taxes would bolster its position.

Policing is another pressure point. Proposals by the government to shrink police forces nationwide have prompted doubts about the City of London Police remaining independent. Critics argue that losing that independence could weaken a specialist capability in prosecuting fraud. "The City believes there is value in keeping" the police force independent, Masojada said. "We want the Square Mile to be the safest place to be."

Community, hiring and fixing what is in front of you

For five years, Masojada has led the East End Community Foundation, a charity working to tackle inequality in many of London's most deprived neighborhoods. As Lord Mayor, he plans to champion young people and disadvantaged communities by widening access to work experience and training. He also wants hiring processes to improve, noting that applicants too often experience a "black hole," an observation shaped in part by watching his five children apply for jobs.

He is directing tough messaging internally too. The charity that oversees the City's bridges is on his list. He crosses London Bridge every day and points out that the temporary barriers are still up, despite it being nine years since the 2017 terrorist attacks. "The City Bridge Foundation should fix that in my view and I have told them," he said. "Where we have the muscle to do something, I believe we should."

The bottom line: Masojada is trying to channel pension capital into private assets, keep the City's finances resilient, maintain a specialist police force, and widen the talent pipeline. For your portfolio, watch whether trustees and executives shift allocations toward private and UK assets, whether past pledges turn into actual deals, and how policy stability and City governance shape capital flow.

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