All alternative assets articles – Page 2

  • ESG spotlight
    News

    FTSE 100 firms lagging on data, half of schemes have impact investments

    2022-03-08T00:00:00Z

    ESG spotlight: A roundup of the latest news on environmental, social and governance initiatives, with a majority of FTSE 100 companies still failing to disclose diversity and welfare data in their annual reports, and Big Society Capital finding that half of all UK pension funds now hold some form of impact investment.

  • Pexels
    News

    DC focus turns to member outcomes but retirement uncertainty remains

    2022-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Data crunch: Despite almost half of defined contribution schemes now stating their main aim is to deliver adequate retirement income for members, 63 per cent do not know what is the expected outcome for a typical member at retirement, according to new research.

  • iStock
    News

    LGPS funds finish 2021 with an increased ESG equity focus

    2022-02-22T00:00:00Z

    Data crunch: Making a broad equity allocation without incorporating environmental, social and governance criteria is now almost anathema to local authority pension schemes, at least according to the data collected by MandateWire over the fourth quarter of 2021. 

  • Podcasts
    News

    Podcast: Government must set a timeline for auto-enrolment expansion

    2022-02-10T00:00:00Z

    Podcast: Auto-enrolment could bring significant benefits to the young, the low-paid and women, and the government must commit to a date to expanding coverage, according to Now Pensions’ head of PR and campaigns, Samantha Gould. She is joined by Linklaters pensions partner John Sheppard to discuss AE, pensions dashboards, and illiquid investments by defined contribution schemes.

  • Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
    News

    Alternative assets could give DC higher returns with no extra risk

    2022-02-02T00:00:00Z

    Alternative assets could present defined contribution schemes with a means to increase value for members without taking on any extra risk, according to a new report from the Pensions Policy Institute.

  • Pexels
    News

    Tweaking the charge cap will not solve DC illiquids conundrum

    2022-01-19T00:00:00Z

    As the government’s consultation on removing performance fees from the charge cap — designed to assist defined contribution schemes looking to invest in illiquids — closed on Tuesday, industry experts have warned that the measure may make very little difference, and may in fact prove counterproductive.

  • News

    PIPAs seeking the best and brightest of the pensions industry

    2022-01-19T00:00:00Z

    The Pension and Investment Provider Awards for 2022 have now opened for submissions.

  • News on the go
    News

    Solvency II reform could unlock ‘tens of billions’ in investments

    2022-01-04T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The reform of the EU’s Solvency II requirements would unlock a “Brexit bonus” amounting to “tens of billions” of pounds in long-term infrastructure investment, according to a new report from the Pension Insurance Corporation.

  • News on the go
    News

    Nest and UBS divest from ‘unresponsive’ energy companies

    2021-12-20T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Asset manager UBS has jettisoned “unresponsive” energy companies from its suite of climate-aware funds, including one it manages on behalf of Nest.

  • News on the go
    News

    DB schemes derisk investments as funding levels improve

    2021-12-13T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Defined benefit schemes are increasingly looking to derisk their investment approach to protect their improved funding levels, according to new research from Aon.

  • News on the go
    News

    DC schemes could allocate almost half of assets to illiquids

    2021-12-07T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Defined contribution schemes could allocate up to 40 per cent of assets to illiquids for younger members to help improve their outcomes, according to new research from Hymans Robertson.

  • Maria Ryan
    Opinion

    Are alternatives a good substitute to bonds for pension schemes?

    2021-11-05T00:00:00Z

    Historically, government bonds have played a number of important roles in UK pension schemes’ allocations. They have provided liquidity, strong diversification benefits to equities, and offered good and reliable income.

  • News on the go
    News

    Border to Coast to launch £1.3bn Listed Alternatives Fund

    2021-10-28T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, which handles the assets of 11 Local Government Pension Schemes worth a collective £55bn, has announced it is set to launch a £1.3bn Listed Alternatives Fund.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Budget 2021: Sunak announces further changes to DC charge cap

    2021-10-27T00:00:00Z

    Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that the government will consult “within the next month” on further changes to the charge cap intended to encourage more investment in illiquid assets by defined contribution schemes. But experts have said this is “missing the point”.

  • Flickr
    News

    TPR to demand more asset information from schemes in 2023

    2021-10-21T00:00:00Z

    The Pensions Regulator has confirmed it will press on with reforming the asset class information it collects via the scheme return, in a consultation response published on Thursday.

  • News on the go
    News

    USS invests £75m in housing finance

    2021-09-20T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The £80.6bn Universities Superannuation Scheme has made an investment in residential housing finance via specialist lender Pluto Finance.

  • iStock
    News

    LGPS funds and pools cement bet on alts in Q2

    2021-08-31T00:00:00Z

    LGPS funds and pools cement bet on alts in Q2Data crunch: LGPS funds awarded 37 mandates to asset managers during the second quarter, a time when these schemes and local authority pools increased their allocations to alternative investmentsEnterkeywords.sh_embed {position: relative;height: auto;width:100%;z-index: 0;overflow: hidden;background-color: #222;color: white;font-family: 'Lato', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, ...

  • John Sibley/Reuters
    News

    Industry bodies to 'develop the case' for DC illiquid investments

    2021-08-26T00:00:00Z

    Industry bodies including the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, the Association of British Insurers and the Investment Association will “develop the case” for defined contribution schemes to invest in less-liquid assets, as part of a push to secure “long-term value” for its members.

  • Airubon/Dreamstime
    News

    DIY strategies are ‘better and cheaper way’ to do ESG investing

    2021-08-11T00:00:00Z

    Customisation of index strategies and direct ownership of equities is a more efficient and cost-effective way of investing sustainably than using ‘off-the-shelf’ index products, according to SigTech, which offers quant technologies to investors. 

  • Podcasts
    Podcasts

    Podcast: Tapping DC for Long-Term Assets Fund requires ‘rigorous’ scrutiny

    2021-07-08T00:00:00Z

    Podcast: HM Treasury’s proposals to tap defined contribution schemes for its new Long-Term Assets Fund is not a bad idea, but problems with daily dealing remain, and it requires the kind of “rigorous” scrutiny applied to other new asset classes. PensionBee chief executive Romi Savova and Jonathan Parker, head of DC and financial wellbeing at Redington, discuss the LTAF, rumours of a tax raid, and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s new Responsible Investment Quality Mark.