All Investment articles – Page 110
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News
How the slump in oil prices is hitting schemes
As oil prices fall below $50 (£33) a barrel, investment experts have urged pension schemes to seize the opportunity to hedge their liabilities against inflation and heed the impact on their commodity markets exposure.
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News
Leading DB funds target responsible investment disconnect
The UK’s largest pension funds have put pressure on fund managers to make the case for their responsible investment strategies, publishing a guide intended to “break down the information barriers” between schemes and managers.
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Opinion
Eight ways to manage the volatility of your EM exposure
Emerging market equities have had a bumpy 18 months. Axa IM’s Yoram Lustig outlines an eight-point plan for schemes considering an allocation to the asset class.
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Opinion
How smaller schemes can optimise their investment portfolios
Buck Consultants’ Celene Lee explains how a focus on returns, risk and liquidity can deliver for smaller schemes a robust investment strategy, despite their modest scale.
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News
Leicestershire to commit entire credit portfolio to direct lending
Leicestershire Pension Fund plans to move its entire credit portfolio into direct lending as it makes a further £100m investment in an asset class increasingly targeted by yield-starved pension funds.
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News
Inflation hedging on the rise with smaller scheme LDI
Inflation hedging activity saw a jump towards the end of last year as medium-sized schemes took advantage of favourable pricing, ahead of further inflation falls.
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Opinion
How to run a beauty parade to find the best adviser for your scheme
Any other business: The time comes when every scheme needs to hire new advisers. But in an industry with such a diverse range of skills, how can you be sure you are hiring the right one?
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Opinion
Five objectives and five risks for DC
Talking head: Nest’s CIO Mark Fawcett puts together a 10-point framework for DC trustees, arguing for a focus on growth, flexibility and cost, while managing inflation and longevity.
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News
Secondhand annuities could offer DB funds income, but pricing tricky
The pensions minister’s proposal to allow retirees to cash in annuities could suit defined benefit schemes eager to access the resultant long-term cash flows, but pricing “secondhand” annuities could be a sticking point.
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Opinion
How the DB code’s employer growth objective affects scheme funding
In a world where just one in five UK sponsors have a ‘strong’ covenant, Spence’s Marian Elliott explains how trustees of such schemes can strike the balance between an appropriate investment risk strategy and reliance on employer contributions.
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Opinion
Nationwide, Strathclyde and British Coal among top five 2014 investment stories
Ditching hedge funds, the rise of responsible investment and the growing success of property mandates have all featured in a tricky year for UK pension fund investment.
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Opinion
Five entirely depressing findings from the DC charges audit
If the workplace pensions industry should be judged by how it treats its existing customers, then today's revelations on scheme charges find it at best unfair and at worst extortionate.
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News
Berkshire makes co-investments to profit from food supply chain
The Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund has announced investments in the global food and water supply chain, with a private equity mandate investing in two US start-ups driving sustainable consumption.
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Opinion
Does your scheme lack a 2015 strategy?
Any other business: Most schemes lack a set strategy for the new year, governance experts say, as the industry turns its attention to the challenges of the next 12 months.
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Opinion
Nest: Our ethical strategy, and why talking to scheme members is crucial
Talking head: Paul Todd, assistant director of investment at the UK’s state-sponsored pension scheme, explains how its ethical fund is constructed to deliver an appropriate strategy for its members.
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News
How stewardship has moved up the scheme investment agenda
As many as four out of five UK pension funds now screen their managers for stewardship activity as part of the selection process, demonstrating the growth in environmental, social and governance considerations among institutional investors.
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Opinion
How to battle the key threats to your fixed income holdings
In the latest edition of Technical Comment, Natixis’s Olivier de Larouziere argues that pension funds’ asset allocations will have to adapt to a “lower-for-longer” environment on interest rates.
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Opinion
Why the equity market is some way short of a bubble
JP Morgan’s Patrik Schöwitz looks at the value in global equity markets, and argues that a “golden period” for the asset class is not on the verge of becoming tarnished, in the latest edition of Informed Comment.
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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
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.