All Governance articles – Page 18

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

    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.

  • News

    Environment Agency scheme takes aim at private equity ESG failings

    2020-07-06T00:00:00Z

    The Environment Agency Pension Fund, one of the UK’s largest public sector pension schemes and long-acknowledged as a leader in ethical and sustainable fund management, was among the first to sign up the Make My Money Matter campaign. While the fund has made great strides in making its portfolio more sustainable, the pressure is on its private equity managers to go even further.

  • 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

    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.

  • News

    Regulator finds lack of consistency in IGCs

    2020-06-24T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Financial Conduct Authority is concerned about a lack of consistency in the way independent governance committees operate, which means that members of some workplace pension schemes may not be receiving value for money.

  • News

    Peers push for clarity over insolvency measures

    2020-06-18T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Members of the House of Lords have pressed the government to provide clarity over the impact of new insolvency laws on pension schemes.

  • News

    Fiduciary managers outperform during coronavirus crisis

    2020-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Analysis: A year after emerging from the scrutiny of the Competition and Markets Authority, fiduciary managers are now embracing transparency to advertise outperformance of traditional advised defined benefit schemes.

  • Podcasts

    Podcast: 'Crystal ball-gazing' makes ethical investment tough for trustees

    2020-06-05T00:00:00Z

    Trustees aiming to make ethical investment decisions can find it tough to justify them without recourse to a crystal ball, as the legal requirements are ill-defined, says Irwin Mitchell’s pensions partner Penny Cogher. In this episode she’s joined by independent consultant and long-time pensions expert Malcolm McLean for a discussion covering capital-backed endgame deals, the complications of new insolvency laws, and some morally dubious LGPS investments.

  • News

    Lockdown spikes fears of democratic deficit in LGPS

    2020-06-05T00:00:00Z

    As the Covid-19 crisis unfolds, there could be a worrying governance and democratic deficit in some local authority pension schemes, with only 27 per cent of councils having virtual pension committee meetings.

  • News

    Brunel achieves carbon intensity reduction target

    2020-06-04T00:00:00Z

    Brunel Pension Partnership has achieved its target of reducing the carbon intensity of its active portfolio by 7 per cent a year in time for the UN’s World Environment Day, but smaller schemes saddled with pooled products may lack the clout required to emulate them.

  • Opinion

    Trustees must face hard governance truths after Covid shake-up

    2020-06-02T00:00:00Z

    Our daily lives will inevitably change once the Covid-19 crisis is over.

  • Greig McGuinness
    Opinion

    More than a number: what it means to be a professional trustee

    2020-06-02T00:00:00Z

    Dalriada’s Greig McGuinness recounts his experience of accreditation as a professional trustee, and gives his thoughts on the responsibility to uphold the profession that comes with completing the process.

  • News

    USS divests from coal, tobacco and weapons manufacturers

    2020-06-01T00:00:00Z

    The UK’s largest pension scheme has announced it is to divest from selected coal, tobacco and weapons manufacturers, following years of campaigning by members and activist groups.

  • News

    Chair’s statement template to ease trustee headaches

    2020-05-28T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has released a new template designed to help trustees of well-run defined contribution schemes avoid being caught out by chair’s statement requirements.

  • George Currie
    Opinion

    Templates help, but govt help is needed on chair’s statements

    2020-05-28T00:00:00Z

    As the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association releases templates to help trustees avoid pitfalls in defined contribution chair’s statements, George Currie appeals for greater regulatory flexibility in how punishments are dished out.