All Governance articles – Page 17

  • News

    LGPS wades into Israel-Palestine row with UN blacklist engagements

    2020-10-01T00:00:00Z

    At least two Local Government Pension Scheme funds are undertaking engagements with companies linked to contested Israeli settlements, Pensions Expert can reveal.

  • Podcasts

    Podcast: Arguments for DC consolidation stronger than for DB

    2020-09-23T00:00:00Z

    Podcast: The pace of defined contribution consolidation could accelerate on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic, but mergers are a less obvious boon for define benefit, say Squire Patton Boggs partner Kirsty Bartlett and Hadassah Shulman, senior associate at Taylor Wessing.

  • News

    Fund managers’ ESG claims outperform reality

    2020-09-22T00:00:00Z

    A third of asset managers are still not engaging on climate change, according to analysis by Redington. But of those that do, experts warn that their environmental, social and governance ratings may not be all that they appear.

  • News

    Mercer launches DB master trust as demand for consolidation increases

    2020-09-15T00:00:00Z

    Mercer has launched a new defined benefit master trust promising sponsors enhanced governance and economies of scale, amid an accelerating trend towards consolidation and outsourced solutions, with pensions minister Guy Opperman stating that “bigger is better”.

  • News

    Scottish Widows snares top hire from Legal & General

    2020-09-14T00:00:00Z

    Veteran professional David Butcher has just taken on a new dual role as a member of the master trust board and independent governance committee at Scottish Widows, moving from Legal & General’s master trust board.

  • News

    Covid and regulatory burdens push building society to outsource scheme

    2020-09-14T00:00:00Z

    With the work of lay trustees becoming more complex, and the pandemic highlighting other areas in need of sponsors’ attention, the Furness Building Society has opted to outsource services for its defined benefit scheme, a trend that is expected to accelerate.

  • News

    Smaller schemes to prove value for members or face consolidation

    2020-09-11T00:00:00Z

    Defined contribution schemes with assets below £100m will have to prove their value for members, or face being advised to wind up or consolidate, according to new rules proposed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

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    News

    Plumbing scheme announces independent governance review

    2020-09-04T00:00:00Z

    The Plumbing & Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme is to carry out an independent review of its governance structures, after sustained criticism from the scheme's small employers and a court case over its handling of orphan liabilities.

  • Opinion

    Applying the lessons of coronavirus to climate change

    2020-08-26T00:00:00Z

    Kempen’s Nikesh Patel explains how current pension schemes’ longevity assumptions do not take into account climate change, which could have a drastic impact on the sector.

  • News

    TPR in discussions with Plumbing trustees over governance failures

    2020-08-21T00:00:00Z

    The Pensions Regulator has been in discussions with the trustees of the Plumbing and Mechanical Services Industry Pension Scheme, who face criticism for governance failures amid a long-running debacle that could send plumbers into bankruptcy.

  • News

    TPR conducts internal review after Norton case

    2020-08-13T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Pensions Regulator is conducting an internal review to identify if there are lessons to be learnt after the Norton Motorcycles debacle, a case that left members looking to recoup losses in excess of £14m.

  • News

    Investors urge companies to tackle modern-day slavery in Gulf

    2020-08-05T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Brunel Pension Partnership is among a group of investors calling on companies to protect migrant workers in the Gulf, over concerns that job cancellations caused by Covid-19 are forcing them into debt bondage.

  • Opinion

    The dawn of continuous governance

    2020-07-29T00:00:00Z

    The pensions industry’s reaction to Covid-19 has ushered in an era of professionalism and frequent monitoring that should arguably have always been the status quo, writes Ross Trustees’ Roger Mattingly.

  • News

    PLSA framework to help savers navigate ‘confusing’ freedoms

    2020-07-29T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has proposed a new regulatory regime that will require schemes to support savers when making decisions about how to access their pensions.

  • News

    Trend towards master trusts continues apace

    2020-07-14T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The rate at which FTSE 250 companies move to master trusts as their main defined contribution vehicle is set to accelerate over the next two years, according to a new report from Willis Towers Watson.

  • Podcasts

    Podcast: Pension schemes bill could have ‘unintended consequences’

    2020-07-07T00:00:00Z

    Podcast: The pension schemes bill defines criminal offences so broadly that it could have “unintended consequences” for the running of pension schemes, potentially stifling legitimate corporate activity. Tiffany Tsang, Local Government Pension Scheme and defined benefit policy lead at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, and Eversheds Sutherland partner Jeremy Goodwin both agree that more clarity is needed, in an episode also covering fallout from the passage of the insolvency bill, the launch of the Make My Money Matter campaign, and a 16th century pension scheme bailout.

  • Opinion

    IGCs let savers down with impunity

    2020-07-06T00:00:00Z

    In an earlier column for Pensions Expert, I asked whether independent governance committees were up to the job of looking after the interests of millions of workplace pension savers.

  • News

    Environment Agency scheme takes aim at private equity ESG failings

    2020-07-06T00:00:00Z

    When BBC sports presenter Gary Lineker took to Twitter after the Make My Money Matter campaign launch to say he “hadn’t even contemplated that investment into our pensions could be so questionable. Will be asking questions now, though”, he manifested the point and the goal of the campaign: most people have a vision for the future, but very few realise the power of pensions in realising it.

  • News

    How can schemes make ESG compliance meaningful?

    2020-06-26T00:00:00Z

    Analysis: The UK pension industry’s first attempt at compliance with new sustainability reporting rules has left campaigners unimpressed, to say the very least.

  • News

    DB trustees spend 3,000 days a year processing inefficiencies

    2020-06-25T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Defined benefit pension scheme trustees cumulatively spend 3,000 days each year monitoring processes that could be avoided by adopting a technology-led approach, new analysis shows.