All articles by Alex Warnakulasuriya – Page 4
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NewsHMRC abandons VAT policy on insurer exemption
HM Revenue & Customs has adapted its policy on the VAT treatment of pension fund management conducted by insurers, removing an exemption for all services, other than those supplied to "special investment funds".
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FeaturesWorcestershire looks overseas for infrastructure
The Worcestershire County Council Pension Fund has agreed to split £150m equally between two new overseas infrastructure funds, in the latest stage of an infrastructure investment programme that has run since 2015.
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Features
Structured equity appeals but ‘not a no-risk strategy’
Analysis: For some time now, financial punters have prescribed passive investment as the low-cost panacea for investors bloodied by years of underwhelming active management.
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News
PLSA proposals welcomed but superfunds still ‘a step too far’
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association's DB Taskforce has published its final report, providing further details on the creation of superfunds, while highlighting how benefit simplification and a new chair’s statement for defined benefit scheme trustees could increase efficiency.
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FeaturesShould schemes engage in more shareholder activism?
Analysis: Facebook has cancelled its plan to issue a new type of non-voting shares following pressure from investors, but some have said UK pension funds lack the size to exert similar influence.
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News
Scottish charities face insolvency as exit debt bites
Community admission bodies in the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme are in the middle of a debt crisis, accountants have said, but ceasing accrual or exiting the LGPS risks triggering unmanageable cessation debt and driving admitted bodies into insolvency.
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Features
Where should tomorrow’s schemes allocate their assets?
Pensions Expert 20th Anniversary: In 1997, globalisation and increased investor sophistication powered a bull market that was meant to stretch beyond the confines of a regular business cycle.
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NewsFCA forces asset managers to disclose transaction costs
The Financial Conduct Authority continued its transparency reform this week, with the release of a policy statement requiring greater transaction cost disclosure for workplace pensions.
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News
Jersey teachers’ fund puts faith in active management
The States of Jersey Teachers’ Superannuation Fund has bucked the current trend away from active management and increased its exposure to active equities, reducing index shares.
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Opinion
Patient capital consultation met with industry scepticism
The government closes its consultation on financing growth in innovative firms this week as it looks to increase scheme investment in ‘patient capital’, but concerns persist over the suitability of this asset class for pension schemes.
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NewsOxfordshire referred to TPR for a second time
The Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund has received a second referral to the Pensions Regulator after it failed to submit its annual benefit statements on time.
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Features
How valuable are transition managers?
Analysis: Last week, State Street agreed to pay approximately $35m (£26m) to settle a pair of complaints by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it defrauded six institutional investors while conducting transition management services.*
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News
Scams continue to be a threat to members' savings
One in 12 transfers may have been subject to fraudulent activity, a new report has found. The figure has fallen from last year’s corresponding study, which found potential scams in as many as one in nine cases.
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Features
What can pension schemes learn from insurers?
Analysis: Prudent liability management features among the priorities of pension funds and insurers alike. Experts have previously called upon investors to think more like insurers, but differences in objectives, regulatory requirements and scale mean that total strategic convergence between schemes and insurers is unlikely.
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Features
Schemes regain faith in fid man evaluators
Trustees have shown more inclination towards using third-party evaluators as part of the fiduciary management selection process, a new report has shown. Mid-sized schemes continue to flock towards fiduciary management.
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News
PLSA urges schemes to focus on ‘inputs’
A new report on pension scheme governance calls for greater focus on improving the quality of structures and personnel, or ‘inputs’, and argues that processes have received excessive attention.
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Opinion
What is the pensions conference good for?
Any Other Business: Trustees, consultants and asset managers flock to stuffy conference halls across the country to deliver speeches, spill pints and engage in lively debate over the issues of our time, but what is it the pensions conference really brings its participants?
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Features
Research and Mifid II: Better quality, lower cost
Analysis: As more asset managers announce their decision to absorb research costs in response to Mifid II, experts speculate that schemes may benefit from better returns and greater transparency.
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Opinion
Asset manager mergers: How they affect pension schemes
Analysis: The recent uptick in mergers and acquisitions activity in the asset management industry has sparked debate among experts over potential ramifications for schemes. Fees, innovation and relationships with managers could all be affected.
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News
Report calls for legal right to partial DB transfer
Members of defined benefit pension schemes should have the legal right to partially transfer their pension rights, a new report has said. It also recommended enhanced disclosure and broader consideration of client profiles.