The chief investment officer of Nest, the UK government-backed defined contribution pension scheme, told delegates attending the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association conference in Edinburgh he was concerned about the shift to investing in more unconventional credit markets.

Mark Fawcett, whose scheme has grown to manage £772 million since it was set up in 2011, on behalf of 2.8 million UK workers, cautioned that investors may not fully appreciate the risk of investing in comparatively newer credit asset classes, specifically highlighting the likes of direct lending to companies through crowdfunding platforms.