All Opinion articles – Page 37

  • Girish Menezes
    Opinion

    Self-driving pensions are worth our consideration

    2018-05-21T00:00:00Z

    Artificial intelligence and other technologies are developing at breakneck speed, and many have pensions applications. It is time to explore the best practice in relation to these emerging technologies, says the Pensions Administration Standards Association’s Girish Menezes.

  • Duncan Buchanan and Nicola Rondel
    Opinion

    Stranded in a failed mastertrust

    2018-05-21T00:00:00Z

    From the blog: From April 2019, mastertrusts will not be able to operate unless they have been authorised by the Pensions Regulator, and many may decide to pull out of the market.

  • Source: Bosch
    Opinion

    Is it time to trim your hedge funds?

    2018-05-21T00:00:00Z

    Analysis: Since 2000, there has been an extraordinary rise in hedge fund investment. While only 2.1 per cent of large institutional investors had money in hedge funds in 2000, cost analysis service CEM Benchmarking says that this figure surpassed 50 per cent in 2016.

  • Opinion

    Carillion's post-mortem

    2018-05-18T00:00:00Z

    It is not unusual for Work and Pensions Committee chair Frank Field to show off an impressive vocabulary when launching a salvo against political and personal foes. But even by his standards, the imagery used to put to bed the failed outsourcer Carillion has taken a turn for the macabre.

  • Carolyn Saunders
    Opinion

    ESG investing has little to do with ethics

    2018-05-18T00:00:00Z

    The pensions world has hesitated over environmental, social and governance factors for a long time, writes Pinsent Masons’ Carolyn Saunders, but legal developments mean they cannot afford to do so any longer.

  • Opinion

    Pension funds are making good progress with ESG, says Brunel CEO

    2018-05-16T00:00:00Z

    Pension funds are making good progress when it comes to responsible investment, according to the £29bn Brunel Pension Partnership’s chief executive Dawn Turner.

  • Jihan Diolosa
    Opinion

    Rising rates: to hedge or not to hedge?

    2018-05-15T00:00:00Z

    With interest rates on an upward move, pension schemes that can afford to be tactical should review their hedging strategy without delay, according to Russell Investments’ Jihan Diolosa.

  • Opinion

    GDPR - A brave new world for the pensions industry

    2018-05-14T00:00:00Z

    It is easy to imagine bunkers in remote corners of England, hatches locked, filled with trustees who are desperate not to hear any more about the General Data Protection Regulation.

  • Simon Grover
    Opinion

    People trust people, not institutions

    2018-05-14T00:00:00Z

    From the blog: Whether a pension fund is facing closure, or just suspending its website while investment options change, there are many reasons why a scheme might have to communicate tricky or delicate subjects.

  • Fixed income roundtable
    Opinion

    Roundtable: How are fixed income strategies adapting?

    2018-05-11T00:00:00Z

    Central bank policy has turned a major corner, and many fixed income markets are looking increasingly expensive - six experts share their insights on how pension scheme strategies should adapt.

  • Opinion

    Roundtable: How should schemes pick fixed income managers?

    2018-05-09T00:00:00Z

    Fixed income markets do not present as obvious a case for passive management as equities, but how should schemes evaluate manager skill? PGIM’s Edward Farley, Barnett Waddingham’s Sophia Heathcoat, MJ Hudson Allenbridge’s Anthony Fletcher, Independent Trustee Services’ Dinesh Visavadia, Bestrustees’ Graham Wardle and independent trustee Alexandra Martinez discuss.

  • Alistair Russell-Smith
    Opinion

    What to consider before agreeing a switch to CPI

    2018-05-08T00:00:00Z

    The appropriateness of the retail price index has been increasingly challenged in recent years, according to Hymans Robertson’s Alistair Russell-Smith, but around three quarters of the UK’s 6,000 defined benefit schemes still link their annual pension increases to RPI.

  • Tim Middleton
    Opinion

    Regulator must work with industry on professional trustee standards

    2018-05-08T00:00:00Z

    Both the Pensions Regulator and industry working groups are seeking to define the responsibilities and standards expected of professional trustees. If they do not achieve consistency, writes the Pensions Management Institute’s Tim Middleton, it will be hard to justify their implementation.

  • Jon Parker
    Opinion

    Does the DC charge cap hinder value for money?

    2018-05-05T00:00:00Z

    The focus on costs in recent years has led to a number of trends that may not be in the long-term best interests of members, writes Redington’s Jon Parker.

  • Paul Budgen
    Opinion

    Technology can make more pension savers wealthier

    2018-05-02T00:00:00Z

    From the blog: Throughout my 25-year career in pensions, there have been a few notable milestones and turning points.

  • Stephen Coates
    Opinion

    Expect as few as 15 master trusts within five years

    2018-04-30T00:00:00Z

    Uncertainty and market jostling will greet the enforcement of the master trust authorisation regime in October, but the end result should benefit members, according to Stephen Coates at JLT Employee Benefits.

  • Henry Tapper
    Opinion

    How would extending the remit of IGCs to cover SRI boost outcomes?

    2018-04-30T00:00:00Z

    First Actuarial’s Henry Tapper argues that a responsible approach to investment, turning saving into delayed spending, might help savers engage with their pension.

  • Amit Bharakda
    Opinion

    Data are key to deliver on LGPS pooling

    2018-04-30T00:00:00Z

    From the blog: With the April deadline for the individual local authority schemes in England and Wales to begin the process of pooling just gone, the new entities have their work cut out to establish a common framework and consolidate the assets of the constituent schemes.

  • Opinion

    Roundtable: Where does value lie in fixed income markets?

    2018-04-30T00:00:00Z

    In an increasingly uncertain and somewhat expensive environment for fixed income, which products and asset classes represent the best value for pension schemes? PGIM’s Edward Farley, Barnett Waddingham’s Sophia Heathcoat, MJ Hudson Allenbridge’s Anthony Fletcher, Independent Trustee Services’ Dinesh Visavadia, Bestrustees’ Graham Wardle and independent trustee Alexandra Martinez discuss.

  • Hugh Nolan
    Opinion

    Why pension pros need to keep it simple

    2018-04-30T00:00:00Z

    The Society of Pension Professionals’ Hugh Nolan on why it is important to keep pensions information clear and simple.