All Investment articles – Page 102
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Opinion
Why the equity market is some way short of a bubble
The years following the financial crisis have been a golden period for equity investors. Global equity indices are near all-time highs, following a prolonged period of extraordinary monetary stimulus, while global economic growth remains sluggish.
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News
Managers predict cash will be king for many post-April retirees
It may be a caravan rather than a Lamborghini, but scheme managers across the country are getting ready for a wave of savers cashing in their pension pots come April’s introduction of George Osborne’s retirement flexibilities.
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OpinionEditorial: Just around the corner
The level of calm within a given pensions department ahead of the advent of the new pension freedoms is probably related to how well you know your scheme membership.
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News
Nest to switch TDF goalposts from annuity purchase as April looms
Nest is planning to amend its target date funds that currently aim for annuity purchase in light of the greater flexibility in retirement options available to scheme members from April 2015.
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News
Surrey sets up trigger-based framework for £90m gilt repo move
The £2.9bn Surrey County Council Pension Fund has set a framework to buy leveraged gilts upon hitting inflation and interest rate triggers, as part of a wider move into liability-driven investment.
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Opinion
Rapidly shrinking yields leave investors needing more complex mandates
Six years ago, at the start of the global financial crisis, it was simple to find attractive yields in fixed income.
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OpinionEditorial: Breaking down a door
There used to be the cult of UK equity. Pension funds were to invest in their home country’s businesses so the accrued capital of workers’ retirement holdings was reinvested into capital-creating entities, driving growth and producing return.
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News
Unilever swaps asset allocation approach to focus on outcomes
Consumer goods giant Unilever's pension fund has adopted an outcome-led investment approach split into five key objectives, jettisoning its previous focus on asset allocation in a bid to avoid short-termism.
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Features
CofE scheme mulls infrastructure diversification to drive returns
The Church of England Pensions Board is considering spreading its infrastructure portfolio outside Europe, following a similar decision to rebalance its property portfolio towards the US and Asia in a hunt for return.
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News
UK lags Europe in passives drive for smart beta and ETFs
UK pension schemes are lagging behind their European counterparts investing in smart beta strategies, according to research that adds to criticism of actively managed strategies.
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Opinion
How global events hit your pension fund
Despite many months of turbulent news stories – the continuing advance of Islamic State, pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong and the spread of Ebola – the markets failed to react to this increased uncertainty until last month.
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Features
Non-disclosure agreements: schemes give mixed reaction
Scheme managers and consultants have given a mixed response to the question of non-disclosure agreements for fund management fees, after concerns were raised that they may inhibit schemes’ ability to negotiate value for members.
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Features
Caterpillar scheme delays derisking over stock volatility concerns
Caterpillar Pension Plan has postponed a decision to cut its equity exposure to increase its liability-driven investment allocation as a result of concerns over stock market volatility.
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Opinion
Why industry critics are wrong about 'reckless conservatism'
Dear editor, do you agree with the view that defined contribution pension schemes should focus on young savers’ risk capacity and ignore their risk appetite, because future contributions will more than dwarf any losses incurred in the early years?
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News
Consultants call for more competition in fiduciary management
Consultants have called for greater competition in the fiduciary management industry as a report indicates few schemes are doing due diligence when appointing a provider.
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News
DC benchmarks expected to switch attention to performance
Industry experts have predicted the governance focus for defined contribution default funds will swing from cost to performance as DC benchmarking capabilities come to the fore.
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News
Corporate schemes up alts but stem fixed income flows
UK corporate schemes ploughed 20 percentage points more of their assets into alternatives in the past three months than the previous quarter, while cutting inflows into fixed income, investment data have shown.
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Features
South Yorks ups property, EMD and high-yield in search for returns
South Yorkshire Pension Fund has increased its allocation to property and placed greater emphasis on emerging market and high-yield debt as it searches for greater balance between risk and returns.
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Opinion
How to evaluate your investment consultant’s impact
Muse Advisory’s Anne Kershaw looks at how trustees can evaluate the quantitative and qualitative impact that investment consultants have on schemes, in the latest edition of Technical Comment.
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OpinionEditorial: Turn the dial?
I should start off by agreeing entirely with Barnett Waddingham’s Damian Stancombe that the vast majority of breath spent on defined contribution pensions should not be expended discussing investment, but on encouraging savers to pay more in.