Latest articles from Emma Powell

NESPF beefs up governance to prep for Scottish LGPS reform

North East Scotland Pension Fund plans to establish a dedicated governance team – incorporating communication responsibilities – to deal with the increased workload produced by local government pension scheme reforms. 

Civil service employers face increased contributions after discount rate cut

Participating employers of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme will face an increase in their pension costs, due to a reduced discount rate, following government efforts to control public spending.

Avoiding a talking shop: how to get more out of your trustee meeting

Any other business: Economist and diplomat John Galbraith once said: “Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.” But with fiduciary duty weighing heavily on trustees, board meetings must be a forum for effective decision-making.

Imperial Tobacco ups employer contributions after funding drop

Imperial Tobacco has increased contributions to its UK defined benefit scheme to boost its winding-up funding level, which has dropped by 12 percentage points, according to its latest valuation.

Barking and Dagenham plans social housing investment to hedge inflation

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Pension Fund plans to invest around £25m in social housing in order to hedge against inflation and diversify away from traditional assets.

Local government schemes reject forced passive CIV proposals

Local authority schemes have rejected government proposals to mandate pooling assets into a passively managed common investment vehicle, but did see benefits in other suggestions put forward.

EE closes scheme to future accrual on affordability concerns

Telecoms company EE has closed the defined benefit section of its scheme to future accrual in order to equalise benefits offered to members in a structure which will be more sustainable for the company.

Isle of Wight fund mulls ethical investment policy after council reclaims public health role

Isle of Wight Pension Fund is considering setting its own policy on social, environmental and ethical factors to be considered when making investment decisions, after the council took back responsibility for public health. 

Siemens shrinks deficit with asset-backed funding deal

Siemens (Getty) v2 TEASER

Engineering and electronics company Siemens has set up a Scottish limited partnership for its UK defined benefit scheme to provide additional security for members, shutting a large part of its deficit and stabilising the company’s cash flow.

Caterpillar trims active equities to fill LDI buffer fund

Caterpillar (Getty)

Caterpillar Pension Plan has cut its active equity exposure and plans to sell out of property as part of a trigger-based derisking strategy to boost its liability-driven investment portfolio.