All Equities articles – Page 7

  • News

    Cheshire in the vanguard on TCFD carbon revelations

    2020-09-24T00:00:00Z

    The Cheshire Pension Fund is one of the first UK pension funds to report on the carbon footprint of its £6.1bn investment portfolio, estimating that its stock portfolio’s carbon intensity is a third less than the benchmark.

  • News

    Eviction ‘holiday’ poses threat to schemes’ property investments

    2020-09-18T00:00:00Z

    The government’s extension of a measure designed to provide relief to struggling tenants could adversely affect pension scheme property investments, especially where the scheme acts as a landlord, experts have warned.

  • 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

    Ombudsman decision sets financial loss precedent

    2020-09-09T00:00:00Z

    A recent Pensions Ombudsman determination has opened the floodgates for financial loss claims resulting from the mere possibility of missing out on stock market profit, due to trustees being tardy in processing transfers.

  • Opinion

    Has the DGF had its day?

    2020-09-02T00:00:00Z

    Broadridge’s Hal La Thangue asks whether the ability of low-correlation diversified growth funds to shine through crises can save them from a tarnished reputation.

  • News

    Widows switches into ESG fund as integration becomes standard

    2020-08-13T00:00:00Z

    Scottish Widows has aligned a chunk of its pension portfolios with the transition to a low-carbon economy, as the integration of environmental, social and governance factors emerges as a competitive driver in the commercial defined contribution sector.

  • News

    South Yorks breezes through Covid but warns of potential danger ahead

    2020-08-07T00:00:00Z

    The South Yorkshire Pensions Authority is reducing its exposure to equity market risk, after it escaped the Covid-19 crisis largely unscathed.

  • News

    Lords commit TPR to preserving open DB schemes

    2020-07-01T00:00:00Z

    The House of Lords has amended the pension schemes bill to ensure that open defined benefit schemes are not forced to derisk their investments in the same way as closed plans, in one of four defeats suffered by the government.

  • Opinion

    What role does culture play in value for money?

    2020-06-25T00:00:00Z

    Data crunch: ClearGlass’s Chris Sier shows that the best active funds are usually run by the lowest-cost managers, and asks whether fund houses’ readiness to provide data can be shown to be a sign of good net performance.

  • News

    BoE governor reignites row between superfunds, insurers and regulators

    2020-06-24T00:00:00Z

    In an intervention which laid bare a deep divide both in the industry and between regulators, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has reignited a long-running feud between traditional insurers and advocates of new superfund models, while casting doubt on the Pensions Regulator’s ability to oversee consolidators.

  • News

    Blow to investors as TPR rules risk further dividend drought

    2020-06-18T00:00:00Z

    On the go: New guidance from the Pensions Regulator could prolong the “dividend drought” currently hampering income investors, experts have warned.

  • Opinion

    Upside down: why trustees should be wary of unexpected outperformance

    2020-06-16T00:00:00Z

    Firing a shot across the bows of industry peers, Kempen’s Nikesh Patel argues that trustees should be sceptical of fiduciary managers delivering significantly greater returns than expected when times are good.

  • Opinion

    Does paying more deliver more performance?

    2020-06-15T00:00:00Z

    Data crunch: You get what you pay for, right? As far as fund management is concerned, this old adage does not quite ring true, although as ever there are some caveats, argues ClearGlass’s Chris Sier.

  • Opinion

    Economies of scale: do they exist?

    2020-06-09T00:00:00Z

    Data Crunch: Does size matter? ClearGlass’s Chris Sier digs into the asset classes that offer economies of scales to large or consolidated investors, and explores the possibility that size creates a cost drag in others.

  • News

    LGPS has £2bn invested in alleged ‘illegal Israeli settlement’ companies

    2020-05-29T00:00:00Z

    Thirty-three Local Government Pension Scheme funds retain investments worth more than £2bn in arms manufacturers and in companies accused of supporting illegal Israeli settlements, as some of these schemes opt for engagement instead of divestment.

  • News

    Poor Q1 returns catch up on risky fiduciary managers

    2020-05-29T00:00:00Z

    Fiduciary managers with heavily equity-based portfolios suffered the heaviest losses in the first quarter of 2020, as the wide variation in strategies continues to provoke discussion about the right level of growth portfolio diversification.

  • Opinion

    Asset allocation analysis reveals UK’s governance weakness

    2020-05-21T00:00:00Z

    Data crunch: Another edition of Dr Chris Sier’s insights into cost data collection reveals an inability of large chunks of the UK scheme universe to fulfil their engagement duties fully, leaving policymakers with tricky questions over how to proceed on environmental, social and governance rules.

  • 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.

  • News

    Third of fiduciary managers disappoint in 2019

    2020-05-11T00:00:00Z

    On the go: New research has revealed the stark differences between best-in-class and stragglers in the fiduciary management market.

  • Features

    Coronavirus hits unhealthy DB schemes hard

    2020-05-02T00:00:00Z

    Data crunch: A new report from consultancy Barnett Waddingham has found that the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated the funding divide between UK defined benefit schemes, with severe implications for those at the bottom of the pile.