All Roundtables articles
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Opinion
Roundtable: How should schemes pick fixed income managers?
Fixed income markets do not present as obvious a case for passive management as equities, but how should schemes evaluate manager skill? PGIM’s Edward Farley, Barnett Waddingham’s Sophia Heathcoat, MJ Hudson Allenbridge’s Anthony Fletcher, Independent Trustee Services’ Dinesh Visavadia, Bestrustees’ Graham Wardle and independent trustee Alexandra Martinez discuss.
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Opinion
Roundtable: Where does value lie in fixed income markets?
In an increasingly uncertain and somewhat expensive environment for fixed income, which products and asset classes represent the best value for pension schemes? PGIM’s Edward Farley, Barnett Waddingham’s Sophia Heathcoat, MJ Hudson Allenbridge’s Anthony Fletcher, Independent Trustee Services’ Dinesh Visavadia, Bestrustees’ Graham Wardle and independent trustee Alexandra Martinez discuss.
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Opinion
Roundtable: How can schemes prepare for uncertainty in fixed income?
What does the end of an unprecedented era of quantitative easing have in store for interest rates, and how should increasingly mature defined benefit schemes adapt? PGIM’s Edward Farley, Barnett Waddingham’s Sophia Heathcoat, MJ Hudson Allenbridge’s Anthony Fletcher, Independent Trustee Services’ Dinesh Visavadia, Bestrustees’ Graham Wardle and independent trustee Alexandra Martinez discuss.
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Opinion
How to ensure good value for members
From governance and investment to member engagement and communications, seven experts, including HR directors, look at how employers, providers and trustees can ensure better outcomes for members of defined contribution schemes.
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Opinion
Which communication strategies are best at boosting engagement?
Mark Rowlands from Nest, Caroline Roberts from VisitBritain, Andy Cheseldine from Capital Cranfield, Nasir Rafiq from Islamic Relief Worldwide, Ami Bartrip from the Financial Times, Rosemary Lemon from Hays and Jason Green from Finance & Technology Research Centre discuss communication and engagement.
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Opinion
Governance and investment: What are the duties of employers and providers?
Andy Cheseldine from Capital Cranfield, Nasir Rafiq from Islamic Relief Worldwide, Ami Bartrip from the Financial Times, Caroline Roberts from VisitBritain, Mark Rowlands from Nest, Jason Green from the Finance & Technology Research Centre and Rosemary Lemon from Hays consider the responsibilities of employers and providers in relation to scheme management and default investment.
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Opinion
How can employers, providers and trustees work together to ensure good governance?
Rosemary Lemon from Hays, Caroline Roberts from Visit Britain, Nasir Rafiq from Islamic Relief Worldwide, Mark Rowlands from Nest, Ami Bartrip from the Financial Times, Jason Green from Finance & Technology Research Centre and, Andy Cheseldine from Capital Cranfield, discuss the importance of governance in delivering good member outcomes.
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Opinion
Are DGFs still proving popular?
With a variety of diversified growth fund styles on offer, five experts share their views on what trustees should look for in a manager, while discussing developments in how both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes are allocating to DGFs.
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Opinion
How will the DGF market develop?
Will the diversified growth fund sector grow or shrink? And do illiquid assets have a role to play in DGFs? Shuntao Li from Barnett Waddingham, Percival Stanion from Pictet Asset Management, Murray Taylor from JLT Employee Benefits, Neil McPherson from Capital Cranfield and Naomi L’Estrange from 2020 Trustees discuss how the market is likely to develop.
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Opinion
What should trustees look for in a DGF manager?
What should schemes look for in a diversified growth fund manager? Shuntao Li from Barnett Waddingham, Murray Taylor from JLT Employee Benefits, Neil McPherson from Capital Cranfield, Naomi L’Estrange from 2020 Trustees and Percival Stanion from Pictet Asset Management discuss how to go about selecting a DGF manager, and whether there is conflict between some consultants and the DGF model.
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Opinion
Are real assets the answer for cash flow negative schemes?
As more schemes think about how to invest for cash flow, real assets appear well placed to fill the space. But how are concerns over liquidity addressed, and what are the latest developments in the infrastructure market? Five experts share their views.
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Opinion
How much risk comes with real asset investing?
How can trustees know the risk characteristics of their real asset investments, and how do property and infrastructure compare? Barry Fowler from Aviva Investors, Anish Butani from bfinance, Vassos Vassou from Dalriada Trustees, Gerald Wellesley from HR Trustees and Danny Vassiliades from Punter Southall discuss.
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Opinion
Should pension funds invest in renewable energy?
Barry Fowler from Aviva Investors, Anish Butani from bfinance, Vassos Vassou from Dalriada Trustees, Gerald Wellesley from HR Trustees and Danny Vassiliades from Punter Southall debate what makes renewable energy interesting from a pension fund perspective.
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Opinion
How are DB schemes allocating to DGFs?
How are defined benefit pension schemes using diversified growth funds in their portfolios, and how can trustees choose between the various strategies on offer? Naomi L’Estrange from 2020 Trustees, Shuntao Li from Barnett Waddingham, Neil McPherson from Capital Cranfield, Murray Taylor from JLT Employee Benefits, and Percival Station from Pictet Asset Management discuss how pension funds are approaching DGFs.
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Opinion
Is infrastructure on pension funds' buying list?
Different governments have long been trying to unlock private capital for infrastructure investment, so have pension funds come on board? Barry Fowler from Aviva Investors, Anish Butani from bfinance, Vassos Vassou from Dalriada Trustees, Gerald Wellesley from HR Trustees and Danny Vassiliades from Punter Southall discuss.
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Opinion
What is the outlook for property investment, and how is demand shaping up?
What makes property an attractive investment, and can it deliver much needed cash flow to schemes? Barry Fowler from Aviva Investors, Anish Butani from bfinance, Vassos Vassou from Dalriada Trustees, Gerald Wellesley from HR Trustees and Danny Vassiliades from Punter Southall explore the asset class.
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Features
Smart beta: What drives schemes’ appetite for the strategy?
Smart beta is often seen as a more transparent, simple and low cost alternative to active management. Five experts discuss what is driving the appetite for smart beta among schemes and how the sector is evolving.
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Features
Is there a risk of crowding in smart beta?
Is there a risk of factor‑based portfolios becoming crowded, with increasing popularity potentially leading to overpricing and lower future returns? Eric Shirbini from ERI Scentific Beta, Julien Barral from bfinance, Alan Pickering from Bestrustees, James Price from Willis Towers Watson and Paul Black from Capital Cranfield debate whether crowding really is an issue within smart beta.
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Features
How DC schemes should approach smart beta
How should defined contribution schemes approach smart beta, and how will environmental, social and governance focused investment change the sector? Eric Shirbini from ERI Scentific Beta, Julien Barral from bfinance, Alan Pickering from Bestrustees, James Price from Willis Towers Watson and Paul Black from Capital Cranfield discuss.
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Opinion
What drives the appetite for smart beta among UK pension schemes?
What is drawing pension schemes to smart beta? Eric Shirbini from ERI Scientific Beta, Julien Barral from bfinance, Alan Pickering from Bestrustees, James Price from Willis Towers Watson and Paul Black from Capital Cranfield discuss transparency and trustee training.