All articles by Tom Dines – Page 5
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Features
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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News
50-50 take up remains low, but tax changes could spur interest
Take up of a 50-50 option for members of local government pension scheme funds – which allows halving overall contributions – remains low but could rise with changes to pension tax next year.
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NewsHow to manage an overseas parent company
Any other business: A good relationship with a strong sponsoring employer is a great boon to a pension scheme, as it can mean access to a generous recovery plan and robust guarantees for the future of the scheme and its members.
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Features
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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News
Withdrawals slow as freedom and choice demand eases
The pace of withdrawals from defined contribution pension pots started to slow in the three months between October and December 2015, as pent up demand following the introduction of freedom and choice began to ease.
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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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News
Aberdeen transport fund swaps derisking provider in self-sufficiency push
The Aberdeen Council Transport Fund is rushing to replace a derisking solution as it seeks to update its investment strategy and target self-sufficiency.
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NewsAG Barr plans scheme closure to manage risk
Drinks company AG Barr is planning to close its defined benefit pension scheme to improve employee equality and reduce the risk to the employer.
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News
More than a third support Lisa expansion, research shows
Many under-40s are planning to save into Lifetime Isas alongside their workplace pension, research commissioned by mastertrust Now Pensions this week revealed, but support for expansion of the new savings vehicle could pose a threat to pensions.
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NewsShipbuilding scheme docks £220m into LDI
The Shipbuilding Industries Pension Scheme has committed £220m to a liability-driven investment mandate run by Legal & General Investment Management, as it seeks to derisk and hedge against interest rate rises.
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News
Hertfordshire joins Access LGPS pool
Hertfordshire County Council Pension Fund has joined with 10 other local authority schemes to launch the £33bn Access asset pool, as Local Government Pension Scheme funds work through the governance implications of pooling.
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Opinion
What the latest IGC reports tell us
Analysis: For as long as the term 'independent governance committee' has been floating around the pensions industry there have been questions about how they will work.
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OpinionWhat does Iain Duncan Smith's resignation mean for pensions?
There was a big upset in Westminster over the weekend as former secretary of state for work and pensions Iain Duncan Smith resigned in protest over the chancellor’s latest round of benefit cuts.
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News
Tesco gears DC default towards freedoms
Supermarket Tesco has a new default investment structure aimed at allowing members to access the full range of freedoms in its recently established defined contribution plan, but administrative complexity still holds many schemes back.
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News
PiP calls on government to bridge infra gap
The Pensions Infrastructure Platform has called on the government to make UK infrastructure more appealing to investors, in an effort to address the mismatch between government hopes for infrastructure investment and schemes’ need for returns.
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News
Honeymoon for DGF performance could come to an end, experts warn
Experts have warned diversified growth funds could suffer from lower returns in the future and called for increased innovation among providers, but others still expect the asset class to grow in coming years.
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Features
Shell diversifies away from equities over market fears
The Shell Contributory Pension Fund has diversified its growth asset portfolio and reduced its equity holdings in response to concerns about the level of risk.
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News
PPF: Driving factors matter for active and smart beta allocations
PLSA Investment Conference 2016: Pension schemes should look into the factors driving their investments when considering allocations to active managers and smart beta, said John St Hill, senior portfolio manager at the Pension Protection Fund.
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NewsRPMI dedicates staff to cost investigation
PLSA Investment Conference: The Railways Pension Scheme has hired a full-time employee to investigate investment costs paid by the scheme, after discovering it was paying four times what it had thought.
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News
Which? calls for pensions dashboard but obstacles remain
Consumer group Which? has called on the government to introduce a pensions dashboard, but experts say there are still significant barriers to overcome before it becomes a feasible option.