What is the IGC?
The IGC is an independent committee that acts on behalf of our:
- Workplace Pension customers
- Investment Pathways customers
Its role is to assess whether these customers receive value for money by independently monitoring, challenging and reporting on Royal London's performance.
Watch the video to hear Colin Stewart, Independent Chair, explain more about the IGC.
Read the transcript
Hello, I’m Colin Stewart, Chair of the Royal London Independent Governance Committee.
The role of the Committee is to represent customers saving into Royal London’s workplace pensions and investment pathways, helping ensure their interests are always front and centre.
And our work is centred around a key question: are those customers getting good value for money?
That means looking at the costs they pay, the investment returns they receive, and the quality of service and support they experience from Royal London – from joining a pension scheme to when they start taking their savings later in life.
We work constructively with Royal London, but, importantly, we are fully independent.
And that independence matters – particularly as many customers are automatically enrolled through their employer’s pension scheme and rely on others to act in their best interests.
Since becoming Chair, I’ve found Royal London to be open and transparent. That’s essential for us to assess performance and compare it with alternatives in the market. And where needed, we challenge them – asking detailed questions and pushing for clear explanations from across the business.
Each year, we bring our findings together in our annual report. It highlights where Royal London is performing well, where further improvements are needed, and how we’re helping Royal London to drive better outcomes for its customers.
So, to sum up, the Independent Governance Committee is all about independent oversight, robust challenge and a clear focus on customers. If you want to learn more, you can find the Committee’s full report on the Royal London website.
Thank you.
How the IGC assesses value for money
To assess whether customers receive ongoing value for money, the IGC reviews three core areas:
Plan charges and transaction costs
Investment strategy and performance
Customer service and communication
The IGC also assesses our environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.
IGC Annual Report 2025
Every year, the results of the IGC's assessment are compiled into a report, which is published on this page.
The 2025 IGC Annual Report is now available. Use the navigation bar to quickly find the sections you’re looking for.
Short on time? The ‘At a glance’ summary gives a concise overview of the IGC’s findings.
Archived reports
Meet the IGC
The majority of IGC members, including the Chair, are independent. The committee operates independently from Royal London and acts solely in the interests of relevant customers.
Colin Stewart
Independent Chair
Colin is an experienced non-executive director, chair and former managing director, with a 35-year career at Citi in investment banking, capital markets, foreign exchange, derivatives, risk management and securities services. He has worked extensively in pensions, insurance and asset management, chairing Citi's UK Pension Plans and serving on advisory boards for the Bank of England, Scottish Government and Adam Smith Business School.
Colin holds an MA in Economics from the University of Glasgow and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investments and the Pensions Management Institute, bringing deep expertise in governance, risk oversight and institutional finance.
Louise Eldred
Independent Member
Louise is an actuary with more than 30 years' experience in the mutual sector. As Equitable Life's With-Profits Actuary, she advised management and the Board on the fair treatment of with-profits policyholders and played a key role in implementing the 2019 business transformation that distributed the Society's surplus assets to policyholders. Currently, she is an independent member of the With-Profits Committee of Scottish Widows, advising the Board on the Scottish Widows and Clerical Medical With-Profits Funds.
Louise has worked in highly regulated positions requiring technical aptitude and commercial awareness, always prioritising customer needs and clear communication of complex policies and investments.
Sarah Laessig
Independent Member
Sarah is an experienced non-executive director with 30 years' experience in financial services across banking, asset management and pensions. Following an executive career at Citi, Sarah has built a diverse board portfolio spanning the private and public sectors. She serves as a non-executive director for United Trust Bank and JPMorgan Global Growth & Income plc, and previously served as Senior Independent Director for the Nest Corporation, a non-executive director of Local Pensions Partnership Investments, and as a Civil Service Commissioner.
Sarah holds an MBA in Strategic Management from the Wharton School and an MA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. She brings deep expertise in corporate governance, financial regulation and strategic oversight.
Julie Russell
Independent Member
Julie is a Chartered Insurer with over 43 years' financial services experience.
She retired from Aberdeen in 2020, having held several senior leadership and board-level roles, most recently as Executive Director Advice for 1825
financial planning and advice.
Julie has developed broad expertise in strategy, business and commercial planning, omni-channel guidance, advice and service delivery, proposition
design, firm acquisition and integration, and has held key positions on various boards and committees throughout her career.
Val Rogerson
Non-Independent Member
Val joined Royal London in December 2023 and brings over 30 years' experience in financial services as a qualified actuary.
She has built wide-ranging expertise spanning customer insight, proposition design and strategic development, with a particular focus on service
delivery and relationship management for workplace pensions.
As chair of the Royal London UK Customer Committee, Val is responsible for overseeing the quality of experiences and outcomes delivered to Royal London customers, as well as leading the annual Consumer Duty Board report.
Ewan Smith
Non-Independent Member
Ewan is an actuary with 40 years of experience in financial services. At the end of 2025, Ewan stepped back from full-time work but continues as a Non-Independent Member of Royal London's IGC and a member of Royal London's Investment Advisory Committee.
Ewan joined Royal London in 2001 when Scottish Life merged with Royal London, and has held several senior leadership roles, initially focusing on asset management and actuarial modelling.
For 20 years, he led proposition strategy across pensions and protection. For the last five years, Ewan served as CEO Office Director on the Royal London Group Executive Committee, with specific responsibility for Group Strategy and Group Sustainability and Stewardship. Ewan also served as a director of RLAM and as a Trustee of the Royal London Group Pension Scheme.
Contact the IGC
You can contact the IGC directly at:
royallondonIGC@royallondon.com
If you have a specific question about a product you have with Royal London, visit our get in touch page.
Terms of reference
The IGC's responsibilities, membership and governance arrangements are set out in its terms of reference.