All Asset allocation articles – Page 5

  • News

    One-year contribution holidays could spur economic recovery

    2021-03-01T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Conservative peer Baroness Ros Altmann has recommended that the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announces a year-long contribution freeze for defined benefit scheme sponsors to boost business recovery.

  • UK houses
    News

    Can UK councils rent their own streets to fund pensions?

    2021-02-23T00:00:00Z

    Several US public schemes have embraced unusual means of securing funding, including renting property to themselves. Although these tactics cannot be used across the Atlantic, the post-Covid landscape could see a variety of new strategies being deployed in the UK.

  • News

    Post-Brexit Solvency II reform an opportunity to free up capital

    2021-02-23T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Brexit affords the UK an opportunity to revisit and reform Solvency II legislation, freeing up capital that can then be used to further the post-Covid economic recovery.

  • Data crunch
    News

    LGPS funds have £10bn invested in fossil fuels

    2021-02-23T00:00:00Z

    Data crunch: Despite recent initiatives against climate change, Local Government Pension Scheme funds still have £9.7bn invested in fossil fuel companies, according to new research.

  • News

    Most savers unaware of schemes’ climate change endeavours

    2021-02-17T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Three-fifths of workplace pension members do not know if their scheme is taking any action to combat climate change, according to a survey by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association.

  • News

    Schemes’ industry investments lag behind climate targets

    2021-02-17T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Pension schemes with investments in heavy industry like steel, cement, aluminium and paper are likely to find them lagging behind the Paris agreement’s targets, with 86 per cent failing to align with a pathway to “2C or below by 2050”.

  • News

    Schemes should not ‘mindlessly chase’ illiquidity premium

    2021-02-15T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The chief investment officer of the £19bn Local Pensions Partnership has criticised asset managers promising unrealistic returns from illiquid assets, arguing that they no longer provide the same premium they once did.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Border to Coast expands green infrastructure investment

    2021-02-10T00:00:00Z

    Several pension funds, including the Local Government Pension Scheme pool Border to Coast, have provided the majority of the funding for a new €1.6bn (£1.4bn) renewable energy investment fund launched by the Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.

  • News

    Thousands warn of ‘unjustified’ USS discount rate rises

    2021-01-25T00:00:00Z

    More than 3,000 people have written to the trustees of the Universities Superannuation Scheme to criticise proposed changes to the valuation methodology that, they say, will result in its members and employers being overcharged by the scheme.

  • News

    Biden and EU to act as ESG ‘catalyst’ for UK schemes

    2021-01-19T00:00:00Z

    The confluence of Joe Biden’s inauguration as US president this week and a new raft of rules from the EU in March will serve as a catalyst for the development of environmental, social and governance standards, experts have said.

  • News

    Schemes and managers join forces to improve stewardship

    2021-01-13T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Investment Association and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association have launched a steering group to examine how stewardship can be better integrated into the investment process.

  • News

    Pension contributions plunge 11% as Covid crisis hits

    2021-01-13T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Savers paid 11 per cent less into their defined contribution pension schemes as the coronavirus pandemic hit the UK, Office for National Statistics data shows.

  • News

    Nest to boost private market holdings by 6%

    2021-01-11T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Nest is to expand its private market holdings from 9 per cent to 15 per cent by March next year, with its investments in illiquids and infrastructure assets expected to exceed a fifth of its £13bn portfolio.

  • News

    FTSE 350 pension deficit nearly doubles due to Brexit and Covid

    2021-01-04T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The accounting deficit of defined benefit schemes for the UK’s 350 largest listed companies finished the year at £70bn, almost double the deficit of £40bn at the end of 2019, according to Mercer’s Pensions Risk Survey.

  • News

    Phoenix launches new ESG default solution

    2020-11-27T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business has announced the launch of a new defined contribution default solution incorporating environmental, social and governance standards.

  • News

    Two-thirds of DB sponsors issue 2020 profit warnings

    2020-10-26T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Almost two-thirds (61 per cent) of listed companies sponsoring defined benefit schemes have issued profit warnings in 2020, according to analysis by EY.

  • News

    DB schemes over-reliant on ‘historically improbable’ returns

    2020-09-11T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Underfunded defined benefit schemes in the UK will require “once-in-a-century” equity performance if they are to avoid carrying their funding gaps well into the 2030s, according to a new report from Willis Towers Watson.

  • News

    Covid-19 adds £10bn to inflation woes

    2020-08-20T00:00:00Z

    As the government’s consultation to make changes to the retail price index draws to a close, the impact of aligning the inflation measure with the consumer price index including housing costs has increased by £10bn due to the pandemic.

  • Opinion

    Asset allocation analysis reveals UK’s governance weakness

    2020-05-21T00:00:00Z

    Recently, I was tinkering with the asset allocation data for a large sample of defined benefit pension schemes and ‘accidentally’ came across an interesting, and possibly controversial, story relating to asset allocation.

  • News

    DB deficits fall £7bn in April as equity markets recover

    2020-05-12T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The aggregate deficit of the 5,422 defined benefit schemes in the Pension Protection Fund 7800 Index fell by £7.4bn in April.