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Displaying 1-29 of 29 results
Exclusive
Institutions see green in natural capital: But investors still cautious about strategies in blooming asset class
- Article
- 11 Dec 2023
- Sophie Baker
UK pension funds are exploring the blossoming opportunity for investment in projects and strategies that put nature at their heart to yield societal, environmental and economic benefits - so-called natural capital. Schroders' Institutional Investor Study 2023 of 770 global investors found that 26% of respondents expected to increase or significantly increase their allocation to natural capital over the next twelve months.
Exclusive
Hunt plans UK pension revamp to unlock billions for investment
- Article
- 16 Nov 2023
- Merryn Somerset Webb
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to unveil a package of growth reforms that will allow British companies to release billions of pounds from pension funds for investment. The Pension Protection Fund will also be given new powers to consolidate small retirement plans, with the aim of enabling funds to make larger investments in the UK. The government hopes that these measures will close the UK's investment gap with Europe and boost the country's growth rate.
Exclusive
Year after LDI crisis, UK funds doing better
- Article
- 09 Oct 2023
- Sophie Baker
One year on from the UK's liability driven investment (LDI) crisis - when the announcement of a set of unfunded tax cuts sparked a dramatic period in the UK pension fund world and the gilt market - retirement plans are largely in a better place than they were. Money managers have highlighted changes to pension funds made in response to the gilts upheaval, with funds largely having lower liabilities and improved governance around hedging portfolios.
Exclusive
UK's Pension Protection Fund opens up about climate strategy
- Article
- 09 Oct 2023
- Sophie Baker
Setting and communicating the climate and wider environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy for one of the UK's highest-profile pension funds has taken time and careful thought - but the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is ready to go on the record. The article provides insights from Claire Curtin, head of ESG at the fund, following the PPF's 2023 Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures report.
Exclusive
UK master trusts looking to add collective DC
- Article
- 08 May 2023
- Paulina Pielichata
Some UK defined contribution multiemployer pension plans could soon be able to help workers secure lifetime income, as the UK government mulls introducing collective defined contribution (CDC) options for master trusts.
Exclusive
Give the UK credit for one of the best pensions in the world
- Article
- 19 Jan 2023
- Merryn Somerset Webb
The UK has one of the best pension systems in the world, says Bloomberg Opinion columnist Merryn Somerset Webb. She takes a look at the support on offer for pensioners and the success of auto-enrolment, which few other countries have attempted.
Exclusive
Market shocks prompt allocation overhauls: Corporate pension plan portfolios in UK and US distorted by upheaval
- Article
- 03 Oct 2022
- Sophie Baker
Corporate pension fund portfolios in the UK and US that have been distorted by recent market events are set for an asset allocation overhaul. For UK pension funds in particular, surging gilt yields - followed by plummeting gilt prices - left pension funds scrambling for cash to post as collateral for derivatives positions used to hedge against moves in interest rates.
Exclusive
UK pushes trustees to focus on 'S' in ESG
- Article
- 01 Aug 2022
- Hazel Bradford
The UK government wants to ensure that pension fund trustees are giving enough attention to social factors that could have financial implications, and is setting up a task force to help. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says that it is up to trustees to determine how to consider financially material social risks and opportunities.
Exclusive
UK funds lead way with first climate reports: Investors say mandate highlights need for consistent metrics, wider reporting
- Article
- 01 Aug 2022
- Hazel Bradford
The UK's largest pension funds have produced their first mandated reports on climate risks. Officials hope the new reports will capture the climate-risk profiles of more than 70% of retirement assets. Questions remain about how much the reports can accomplish until there are consistent metrics and more widespread reporting in the financial sector, trustees and consultants say.
Exclusive
UK pools gaining critical mass
- Article
- 23 May 2022
- Hazel Bradford
Assets are growing for local government pension scheme (LGPS) funds, seven years after the pools were created to streamline the investment process. Collectively, the 88 LGPS pension funds in England and Wales represent one of the UK's largest defined benefit segments.
Exclusive
UK climate risk rules for trustees still evolving: Rigorous retirement plan reporting presents challenges and benefits
- Article
- 24 Jan 2022
- Hazel Bradford
UK pension plan trustees are adjusting to new climate-related reporting rules, with more changes from regulators expected to come.
Exclusive
Royal Mail ready to launch first UK collective DC plan
- Article
- 23 Aug 2021
- Paulina Pielichata
Royal Mail is expected to launch its long-awaited collective defined contribution pensions plan in 2022, which will be the UK's first such plan.
Exclusive
UK agency releases proposal about collective defined contribution plans
- Article
- 06 Jul 2021
- Paulina Pielichata
The Department for Work and Pensions is consulting on its draft collective defined contribution plan regulation, which aims to give employers more predictable running costs of plans.
Exclusive
UK pension fund Nest to invest $347m in renewable power
- Article
- 12 Mar 2021
- William Mathis
Nest Corp., the UK's biggest pension fund by members, will invest £250m ($347 million) in renewable energy through a partnership with investment manager Octopus Renewables.
Exclusive
COVID-19 sparks wave of UK contribution holidays
- Article
- 01 Jun 2020
- Sophie Baker
As the impact of the pandemic intensifies, between 10-15% of UK defined benefit fund trustees have received or expect to receive a contribution deferral request.
Exclusive
NT lands UK pension fund mandate
- Article
- 09 Dec 2019
- Perle Battistella
Northern Trust will provide asset servicing solutions and valuation reporting for the House of Fraser Beatties & Jenners Pension Scheme, which provides retirement income for 10,000 scheme members across the UK.
Exclusive
UK keeps pressure steady on poorly governed plans
- Article
- 22 Jul 2019
- Paulina Pielichata
The Pensions Regulator is on a mission to improve the governance of master trusts and single-employer pension plans.
Exclusive
UK experts: Just say no to capital buffer requirement
- Article
- 29 Jan 2019
- Paulina Pielichata
A collective defined contribution pensions plan design doesn't need a capital buffer fund, experts say.
Exclusive
Legal upgrade needed for UK collective DC plans
- Article
- 01 Dec 2018
- Paulina Pielichata
A lack of appropriate legislation may halt the adoption of collective defined contribution plans in the UK.
Exclusive
Different pensions solutions needed for flexible workers
- Article
- 09 Jul 2018
- Paulina Pielichata
Auto-enrolment and escalation might not be the right pension solutions for flexible or self-employed workers.
Exclusive
Drawdown strategies on retirement income gain attention in UK
- Article
- 30 Apr 2018
- Paulina Pielichata
How the pension industry is investigating ways to improve drawdown strategies for defined contribution pension plans.
Exclusive
UK corporate pension plans waking up to benefits of target-date funds
- Article
- 18 Sep 2017
- Paulina Pielichata
Target-date funds are growing in popularity since the UK's pension freedoms legislation was introduced in 2015.
Exclusive
New sense of duty
- Article
- 01 Feb 2017
- Tynan Barton
Trustees of defined contribution pension schemes are facing significant challenges, as (in part due to the introduction of auto-enrolment) the standards expected have been raised and the role has become more challenging.
Exclusive
Pinning down ongoing suitability
- Article
- 08 Dec 2016
- Justin Cash
Justin Cash considers whether pension advisers are doing enough to ensure their clients have the right plan in place in return for the ongoing fees they charge. Under FCA rules, advisers can only take an ongoing charge if they are providing an ongoing service, but there is no upper limit set for ongoing fees.
Exclusive
Peer-to-peer feels the heat
- Article
- 16 Jun 2016
- Sam Brodbeck
Explores the concerns raised by the pension industry regarding peer-to-peer (P2P) lending. Topics covered include the factors that are blocking the development of a functioning P2P market, the efforts of the British government to boost the number of investors in the P2P lending sector and the outlook of Ratesetter, a firm providing loans to individuals and companies, for P2P platforms.
Exclusive
A benefit or a curse?
- Article
- 13 Nov 2014
- Amanda Newman Smith
Discusses the new pensions freedoms to be implemented in April 2015 in Great Britain and the need for careful retirement planning.
Exclusive
Female pension savers at all-time low
- Article
- 23 Oct 2013
- Jennifer Paterson
Reports that the number of women preparing adequately for retirement is at an all-time low.
Exclusive
We are family
- Article
- 01 Jan 2010
- Peter Rayney
Article examines accounting and taxation issues related to executive succession in family-owned businesses.
Exclusive
Trustees still failing Myners test
- Article
- 01 Apr 2004
- Jonathan Stapleton
An April 2004 update on scheme supervision in the British pensions industry, three years on from the Myners report.
Displaying 1-29 of 29 results
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