http://www.pensions-expert.com/Investment/The-Weekly-Wrap-July-19-edition
Investment

The Weekly Wrap: July 19 edition

By Lisa Botter | July 19, 2013

A round-up of the pensions industry stories published across the FT Group, from a shift in investment strategy by schemes looking to derisk to a change in direction by the Bank of England.

Pension fund manager survey: Complex investments take a back seat

FTfm: The top 25 fund managers saw UK pension assets under management rise 9.6 per cent last year, according to FTfm’s latest annual survey. The key themes identified by managers include derisking; growing demand for passive investment strategies, including smart beta, and rising interest in alternatives such as hedge funds, private equity and real assets such as property and infrastructure.

Week in numbers 

  • 9.6% rise in pension AUM of top asset managers
  • BoE signals end of £375bn QE programme
  • £35bn worth of tax relief on contributions

Ageing population to bring huge rise in national debt, says fiscal watchdog

FT: The Office for Budget responsibility has warned the national debt will spiral out of control as the population grows older, unless more austerity measures are put in place. The overall trend is that government spending on health, pensions and long-term care is set to rise as the population grows older.

Strategy switch at Bank of England

FT: The Bank of England has decided to stop the use of its £375bn quantitative easing programme as a way of stimulating the economy, instead opting for a range of other measures, centred on guiding financial markets. This provides evidence of a radical shift in strategy instigated by new governor Mark Carney.

Investors seek better value in portfolio protection

MandateWire: Institutional investors could be overlooking the threat of tail risks due to lack of resources. This is prompting pension funds to re-evaluate traditional methods of portfolio protection to more innovative and cost-effective tools, including equity index option-based strategies, that may offer a better balance of cost and insurance against specific risks.

Pensions tax relief not cost effective, says report

FT: A survey by the Pensions Policy Institute has found generous tax inducements to those that save for pensions offers the greatest benefit to high earners. “Despite tax relief on contributions costing up to £35bn a year…tax relief is poorly understood and there is little evidence that it encourages pension saving among low and medium-income earners,” said Chris Curry, director of the PPI.

Most read on pensionsweek.com

Royal British Legion to expand Pie after £1m saving
How to build the ideal trustee board for members
Regulator: liberation fraud more sophisticated threat
Small schemes offered speedy off-the-peg buyouts
How accounting changes hit your balance sheet

This week's social media comment

In response to a Pensions Week story on the Isle of Wight's move out of equities into diversified growth funds, KPMG's Steve Simkins tweeted that local authorities tend to have overweight allocations to the asset class.

 
Print