All articles by Alex Janiaud – Page 22
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News
SNP bill seeks PPF support for orphan liabilities
A private members’ bill submitted by Scottish National Party MP Alan Brown last week could see the Pension Protection Fund taking on so-called orphan liabilities from multi-employer pension schemes.
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NewsPlumber wins workers' rights case
The Supreme Court has upheld a verdict that Gary Smith, a former contractor who carried out work for Pimlico Plumbers between 2005 and 2011, was indeed a worker at the company and was consequently entitled to workers’ rights there.
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FeaturesElectrocomponents scheme invests in bespoke pooled fund
The UK defined benefit scheme of FTSE 250 distributor Electrocomponents has moved much of its fixed income exposure into a qualifying investor alternative investment fund.
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News
Scheme support levels at highest level since financial crisis
FTSE 350 companies are in the strongest position to support their defined benefit schemes since the 2007/08 financial crisis, a new report has found. However, the gap between the index’s winners and losers continues to rise.
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News
More than half of charity DB schemes are now closed to accrual
Charities are catching up with private sector employers as the number of defined benefit schemes closed to accrual jumped to 58 per cent at February 2018 from 43 per cent a year earlier, according to consultancy Hymans Robertson.
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FeaturesTaylor Wimpey pension plan reaches full funding
Trustees of housebuilder Taylor Wimpey’s pension plan, which completed a medically underwritten mortality study last year, have announced that the scheme has reached full funding following a £23m injection from the company in April.
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Features
Should schemes become more eurosceptic?
Analysis: Trustees may be tempted to act upon the past few weeks’ eurozone headlines, which have detailed sweeping geopolitical change across Italy and Spain and frightened investors in the process.
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Features
Isle of Wight fund tackles 'problematic' data records
The Isle of Wight Pension Fund has implemented an improvement plan in relation to approximately 1,500 records containing “significantly problematic” conditional data, as it grapples with longstanding issues over member information.
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Features
How should schemes appoint their MNTs?
Trustees are required under the Pensions Act 2004 to make sure that at least one-third of trustees, or at least one-third of directors of the trustee company, are nominated by the scheme membership. But what is the best way to appoint member-nominated trustees?
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NewsTrustee fears on the rise over Brexit investment implications
Brexit has grown among defined benefit scheme trustees as a perceived investment risk, according to professional trustee company PTL's latest DB survey, as schemes are advised against making wholesale investment changes over the next few months.
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News
Regulator threatens greater discipline over poor admin
The number of public service pension schemes disclosing inadequate processes for monitoring data accuracy and completeness has risen, as the Pensions Regulator pledges to clamp down on those falling below the standards it expects.
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FeaturesWest Midlands to divest from arms manufacturer
The West Midlands Pension Fund has agreed to divest from South Korean arms manufacturer Hanwha Corporation after years of sustained pressure on the company from institutional investors across the globe in relation to cluster munitions.
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OpinionIs it time to trim your hedge funds?
Analysis: Since 2000, there has been an extraordinary rise in hedge fund investment. While only 2.1 per cent of large institutional investors had money in hedge funds in 2000, cost analysis service CEM Benchmarking says that this figure surpassed 50 per cent in 2016.
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News
Rate of investment consultant tenders has plummeted, survey finds
Less than 3 per cent of pension schemes retendered for investment consulting services last year, compared to 18.6 per cent of schemes in 2008, according to research from selection specialists IC Select.
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FeaturesHaringey to swap passive equities for multi-factor strategy
The London Borough of Haringey Pension Fund has agreed to convert nearly half of its equity allocation from a passive fund into a multi-factor global strategy. It has also recently trimmed an overweight position in equities into its multi-asset absolute return and credit strategies.
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FeaturesKent stands by Neil Woodford despite massive underperformance
Despite concerns over the performance of its UK equities mandate with Woodford Investment Management, the Kent County Council Superannuation Fund has elected to retain its mandate with the embattled asset manager.
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Opinion
GDPR - A brave new world for the pensions industry
It is easy to imagine bunkers in remote corners of England, hatches locked, filled with trustees who are desperate not to hear any more about the General Data Protection Regulation.
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Features
Strathclyde ups commitment to emerging market debt
The Strathclyde Pension Fund has nearly doubled its investment in emerging market debt as part of a drive to diversify its portfolio and participate in 'the growth story' of emerging economies.
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Features
Are diversified growth funds the place to be?
Analysis: Experts remain divided over the value offered by diversified growth funds. While DGFs offer a source of return that comes with reduced risk and daily pricing, they have come in for criticism in recent years over a perceived lack of performance and value.
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Features
Which schemes are destined for the PPF?
The majority of smaller stressed defined benefit schemes are likely to end up in the Pension Protection Fund, according to consultancy Barnett Waddingham, as it raised concerns that the Pensions Regulator's new tougher stance may remove vital flexibility from the system.