---
title: "Devon Pension Fund Independent Person"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06e66b"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e66b"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e66b.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e66b.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Devon County Council"
published: "2026-08-18"
---

# Devon Pension Fund Independent Person

Buyer: Devon County Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06e66b

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## Summary

Devon County Council appointed an independent person for the Devon Pension Fund. The service provides independent advice and support to the Investment and Pension Fund Committee, helping it govern and manage the administration of pensions, investments and funding. The role covers investment strategy, performance monitoring and effective risk management. The fund is managed by Devon County Council as administering authority under regulations approved by Parliament. It serves more than 100,000 pension scheme members, including contributors, pensioners and deferred pensioners, and receives contributions from over 270 employers. The relevant service category is pension and insurance services (CPV 66500000). The work is for Devon County Council and concerns the Devon Pension Fund.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to Apex Investment Advisers Ltd on 17 August 2026. The award is active and covers one lot. Its value is £90,000 excluding VAT, or £108,000 including VAT. The contract period runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2029, with signature scheduled by 28 August 2026. Devon County Council used a below-threshold limited competition. Four bids were received, three reached the final stage and all three final-stage bidders were SMEs. The award relates to services classified as insurance and pension services. Apex Investment Advisers Ltd is the selected supplier; the procurement was evaluated through the limited-competition process.

This award demonstrates demand for independent governance and investment advice within a substantial local government pension fund. Suppliers well placed for comparable work would need credible expertise in pension fund administration, investment strategy, funding and performance oversight, together with the ability to provide genuinely independent advice to a committee. Practical strength in risk management and public-sector governance would be important, as would the capacity to support effective scrutiny of a large, multi-employer scheme with a broad membership. The competition attracted SME participation at final stage, showing that the requirement can suit a specialist advisory firm rather than only a large corporate provider. Relevant pension and investment advisory experience would help a competitor demonstrate credibility when this requirement returns.

## Notice

Devon County Council needs to appoint an Independent Person for the Devon Pension Fund. The Devon Pension Fund is a PS6.8 billion fund, with over 270 employers paying into the fund and over 100,000 members of the Pension Scheme (contributors, pensioners and deferred pensioners). The fund is managed by Devon County Council, who act as the administering authority, in accordance with regulations approved by Parliament. The Independent Person will provide independent advice and support to the Investment and Pension Fund Committee to enable them to provide effective governance and management of the Fund's administration of pensions, and the Fund's investments and funding, including investment strategy, performance monitoring and effective risk management.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078467-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - limited competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 18 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 17 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 1 Oct 2026 - 30 Sep 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £90,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Devon County Council |
| Locality | EXETER |
| Postcode area | Exeter |
| Postcode | EX2 4QD |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK4 Devon |
| ITL 3 | TLK43 Devon CC |
| Local authority | Exeter |
| Electoral ward | Newtown and St Leonard's |
| Westminster constituency | Exeter |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Apex Investment Advisers Ltd |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 66 - Financial and insurance services

### Codes

- 66500000 - Insurance and pension services

## Release History

- 18 Aug 2026 at 11:39 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078467-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078467-2026
  18th August 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.devon.gov.uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e66b. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e66b.json.