All risk articles – Page 12
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Opinion
How to invest in distressed debt
When investing in distressed debt, diversifying among different strategies within the asset class is well worth considering, says Tod Trabocco at Cambridge Associates.
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Opinion
How can schemes assess employer covenant strength?
Darren Redmayne chuckles good-naturedly, at what must be the thousandth time a journalist has asked whether the FTSE 100’s recently revealed accounting surplus means their defined benefit pension problems have gone away.
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Opinion
ESG investing has little to do with ethics
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.
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Features
Liquid alternatives: How diversified is your DC default?
Analysis: Defined contribution default funds are facing the unenviable task of constructing diversified portfolios with limited budgets and a requirement for liquidity. Could liquid alternatives help?
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Opinion
What could we expect from the regulators’ joint pension strategy?
How could the Financial Conduct Authority and the Pensions Regulator’s joint strategy improve pensions regulation? Aegon’s Kate Smith discusses the regulators’ current responsibilities and the benefits of the watchdogs working together on certain issues.
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Opinion
Schemes need a clear strategy for managing longevity risk
Longevity rates in general have been rising, but there is evidence to suggest the pace of improvements has recently slowed. So what does this mean for trustees? John Dewey at Aviva Investors explains.
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Opinion
How to oversee a fiduciary manager for your scheme
Rachel Croft at Independent Trustee Services discusses the key steps for trustees to take when it comes to effectively overseeing a fiduciary manager.
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News
MPs probe pension funds on climate risk amid wider ESG push
MPs are probing pension funds on their approach to climate change risk, as experts expect a ‘multi-pronged attack’ to push environmental concerns higher up trustee agendas.
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Features
General Medical Council swallows DB closure pill
The General Medical Council is set to close its defined benefit scheme to future accrual from April 1 2018, and is in talks with the trustees regarding additional funding.
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Opinion
Investment transitions: How to ensure a smooth changeover
P-Solve’s Matthew Simms explains how to ensure the right balance between speed and managing costs and risk during investment transitions.
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Features
Unilever forks out £600m to tackle £1.2bn DB deficit
Unilever has contributed £600m to its scheme, after an actuarial valuation revealed a £1.2bn deficit. Meanwhile, the trustees have taken steps to ensure they can act quickly should there be a significant corporate event.
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Opinion
IORP II marks an underwhelming farewell from the EU
The EU’s new directive on pension funds will see schemes producing benefit statements on a yearly basis, while risk-management standards will be dragged up and borders broken down, but the overall impact will be limited.
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Features
Oxford University Press scheme invests in stressed debt
Trustees of the Oxford University Press Group Pension Scheme have made a new allocation to stressed debt, an asset class that is best suited to "fleet of foot" pension funds, experts say.
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Opinion
How the PPF manages risk
The Pension Protection Fund’s Hans den Boer explains the pensions lifeboat’s approach to risk.
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News
Lower rise in life expectancy no cure for schemes
After years of steady increases, improvement in life expectancy dropped to 1 per cent a year in 2016 from 3.1 per cent per year in 2011 in England and Wales, but low discount rates mean the rises still matter.
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Opinion
The challenges of passive ESG investment
Bfinance’s Joey Alcock outlines key considerations for schemes opting for passive ESG investment strategies, and says implementation should be adapted to the investor’s specific preferences.
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Opinion
How can DC schemes deliver value for money?
There are few more prolific terms overheard in the pensions industry than value for money, and far fewer that evade objective definition quite so comfortably.
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Features
Scapa sticks to risk management strategy with Pie
Adhesive tape manufacturer Scapa has carried out a pension increase exchange exercise, in its latest move to manage the cost and risk of its legacy defined benefit scheme.
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Opinion
The best way to harness illiquidity
Joshua Featherby at Cambridge Associates explains how defined benefit schemes can use the illiquidity premium to their advantage.
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Features
Deficits have dropped, but how should schemes react?
Analysis: While there has been a recent improvement in defined benefit pension fund deficits, market volatility, weak covenants and increasing longevity mean trustees should continue to keep a tight rein on risk and cost management.