Hermes, the in-house asset manager of the £34.9bn (€52bn) BT pension scheme, is evaluating increasing its commodities allocation, and said it could triple its allocation over the long term.

The BT scheme currently invests 3% in passively managed commodities. Nigel Labram, director of strategy and alternative investments at Hermes, said: "The work hasn't finished, and this is very much a first step ... we have a lot further to go. You can easily justify 5%, 7%, even 10% of the fund."