All Features articles – Page 23
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FeaturesSainsbury’s marks down deficit by £262m
Sainsbury’s Pension Scheme has reduced its post-tax deficit by £262m in the past year, following exceptional employer contributions and an increase in the discount rate.
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GMP top priority this year but trustees could be missing the bigger picture
Respondents to consultancy Capita’s ‘Pension scheme insight report’ cited guaranteed minimum pension reconciliation, member communications and derisking as their main concerns for 2016, but experts say there are more acute challenges that schemes fail to address.
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FeaturesHalcrow plots rescue of DB scheme
Engineering company Halcrow’s pension scheme is expected to agree a liability-management exercise in coming weeks after the High Court ruled a previous proposal was illegal.
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What role does property play in retirement planning?
Analysis: The British population’s fixation on property ownership is one of our enduring national characteristics. But as property wealth grows, and pensions and investment income continues to falter, is home ownership becoming more intertwined with retirement saving?
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Can risk parity work for pension funds?
Analysis: Risk parity funds promise diversification and consistent performance through risk allocation, but in the current climate of interest rate uncertainty how suitable is this strategy for pension schemes?
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FeaturesNationwide targets 30% in illiquids
The Nationwide Pension Scheme is struggling to find suitable illiquid investments as it targets 30 per cent of its portfolio in the assets, the scheme’s chief investment officer has said.
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FeaturesSelex cuts costs with new Care structure
The Selex Pension Scheme has moved to a career average revalued earnings structure following the results of its latest triennial valuation, in an attempt to cut costs and reduce risk.
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FeaturesAsda shops for income streams with £9m cinema purchase
Asda Pension Fund has bought a £9.1m multiplex cinema as part of an ongoing property programme, as schemes continue to lap up real assets for their portfolios.
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FeaturesJaguar Land Rover revs up global credit
Jaguar Land Rover has decided to alter the strategic asset allocation in its two pension schemes by boosting its exposure to global credit, while decreasing assets held for the purposes of matching changes in the fund’s liabilities.
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FeaturesThe push-me-pull-you: In which direction is UK retirement saving headed?
Analysis: The introduction of a workplace Isa, mooted in a new proposal this week, could present both the UK workforce and employers with a radical new alternative, but how can developments in government policy drive the sea change needed in the UK’s savings culture?
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Scapa reduces liabilities by £4m via mortality study
Adhesive tape manufacturer Scapa has reduced its defined benefit liability by £4m, having undertaken a mortality study across its pensioner population as part of a holistic approach to managing risk across the scheme’s assets and long-term obligations.
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Environment Agency Pension Fund shakes up investment monitoring
The Environment Agency has released information about its investment process, emphasising a move away from more traditional benchmarking and quarterly reporting in favour of monitoring fundamentals and ad-hoc reporting.
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Hubbub probes ESG ahead of provider appointment
A small charity is prioritising environmental, social and governance factors in the selection of its workplace pension provider, making use of recent analysis which ranks the UK’s nine largest providers according to their responsible investment practices.
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Strathclyde joins antibiotics campaign as investors up engagement
The Strathclyde Pension Fund is one of 54 institutional investors that have launched an engagement campaign aimed at stopping overuse of antibiotics in the supply chains of corporations in the UK and US.
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Weir Group cuts deficit contributions with 15-year funding vehicle
Weir Group established a Scottish Limited Partnership with the trustee of its main defined benefit scheme last year, allowing the group to reduce its deficit recovery payments while adding to the security of members’ benefits.
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FeaturesITV absorbs Wireless Group DB scheme
Broadcasting company Wireless Group has signed over its defined benefit pension obligations to broadcaster ITV, under the terms of sale of its television entities to the media giant, showing that defined benefit schemes do not have to be left behind in mergers and acquisitions.
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FeaturesFallout from contracting-out continues at Bombardier
Workers at engineering company Bombardier are considering industrial action over employer plans to pass on the cost of contracting-out cessation to members of two of its defined benefit schemes, while sharing the cost for the Railways Pension Scheme.
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GKN continues derisking with £53m buy-in
Global engineering group GKN signed off a second pensioner buy-in during 2015, insuring an additional £47m of pensioner liabilities, as part of a broad strategy to manage asset and liability risk as the group’s UK schemes mature.
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Are LDI models less perfect than they seem?
Roundtable: Using models can make liability-driven investment seem like a clear-cut decision, but should trustees be more willing to question these models? In the final part of this roundtable series, Bestrustees’ Huw Evans, HR Trustees’ Giles Payne, Aviva Investors’ Rakesh Girdharlal, KPMG’s Simeon Willis, Cambridge Associates’ Benoît Jacquemont and P-Solve Asset Solutions’ Barbara Saunders discuss the pros and cons of LDI models.
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Long-term saving solution continues to elude pensions industry
Missed by many amid the Budget’s pomp and circumstance, the summary of responses to the government consultation – ‘Strengthening the incentive to save’ – contains a resounding call for stability but no clear solution to the nation’s savings crisis.