The UK’s universities pension fund, the country’s largest, has recruited the high-profile economist Dame Katharine Barker, a former rate-setter at the Bank of England, as its new chair.

Barker, who also sits on the board at hedge fund manager Man Group, will take over when the Universities Superannuation Scheme’s incumbent chair, Professor Sir David Eastwood, retires in August, the pension fund said on 21 January.