All Sackers articles – Page 4

  • News

    HSBC scheme agrees £7bn longevity swap package

    2019-08-06T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Trustees of the HSBC Bank UK Pension Scheme have agreed the second-largest longevity swap in UK history, insuring £7bn of the scheme's liabilities against living too long.

  • Joanne Smith
    Opinion

    Gearing up for GMP equalisation

    2019-07-23T00:00:00Z

    Sackers’ Joanna Smith sets out a helpful checklist for pension schemes to plan ahead of guaranteed minimum pension equalisation.

  • News

    DOIs: Could a cup of coffee lead to £1m DB fine?

    2019-05-03T00:00:00Z

    A lack of clarity on proposed new legislation means a meeting over a cup of coffee to discuss a corporate transaction could cost an employer up to £1m in civil fines if a declaration of intent is not made in advance, according to law firm Pinsent Masons.

  • News

    L&G master trust default goes green due to member demand

    2019-03-13T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The Legal & General Mastertrust is switching its default investment strategy to take account of environmental, social and governance risks, after a study revealed almost 60 per cent of its members favour the approach.

  • Features

    Caffyns appoints fiduciary manager and overhauls portfolio

    2019-02-15T00:00:00Z

    Trustees of the £86m Caffyns Pension Scheme have appointed a fiduciary manager to improve the performance of the fund’s assets, leading to a restructuring of its investment portfolio.  

  • Podcasts

    Podcast: ESG - Trustee investment duties explained

    2019-01-24T00:00:00Z

    Podcast: New regulations coming into force this year mean pension schemes will be required to publish more-detailed statements of investment principles. These will address financially material environmental, social and governance risks, such as climate change. In this episode, Stuart O’Brien, a partner at law firm Sackers, discusses recent ESG-related developments, the danger of conflating ethical matters with ESG considerations, and explains how schemes can respond to member and pressure group queries.

  • News

    Merseyside goes green with £400m multi-factor equity allocation

    2019-01-22T00:00:00Z

    Merseyside Pension Fund has committed £400m to a new climate-friendly multi-factor fund, developed in collaboration with FTSE Russell, as part of its strategy on managing environmental, governance and social risks.

  • News

    Reuters Pension Fund completes £625m pensioner buy-in

    2018-12-17T00:00:00Z

    The trustee of the Reuters Pension Fund and Thomson Reuters have completed a £625m full pensioner buy-in for the scheme, in the biggest annuity transaction yet for insurer Canada Life.

  • News

    Civil partner LGPS survivor benefits set to match widows

    2018-10-05T00:00:00Z

    Survivors of same-sex civil partnerships and same-sex marriage will receive the same survivor benefits as those provided to widows under new proposals for the Local Government Pension Scheme.

  • DWP
    News

    DWP scraps plans for schemes to check members’ ethical views

    2018-09-12T00:00:00Z

    Controversial plans by the government to force trustees to outline how they have taken members’ ethical views into account in their investment strategies have been scrapped, it was revealed on Monday.

  • Opinion

    DC Debate Q3: Updating asset allocations

    2018-09-03T00:00:00Z

    In the second part of this quarter’s debate, our five DC professionals look beyond the traditional bond and equity portfolio to consider issues including diversified growth funds, alternatives and ESG.

  • Opinion

    DC Debate Q3: Getting the right amount of risk in defaults

    2018-08-30T00:00:00Z

    In the first instalment of this quarter's DC Debate, five experts dive into the appropriate amounts of risk and diversification for defined contribution members at various points in their savings journey.

  • News

    Lookers merges defined benefit schemes

    2018-08-14T00:00:00Z

    UK motor resale company Lookers has amalgamated two of its defined benefit pension schemes, as experts highlight the improved efficiency and cost savings associated with mergers.

  • Peter Murphy
    Opinion

    Schemes must be prepared for an interventionist regulator

    2018-07-02T00:00:00Z

    Defined benefit trustees and employers should both expect to see more of the Pensions Regulator in the coming years, says Sackers’ Peter Murphy, as its new approach and suite of powers look set to target scheme funding and corporate transactions.

  • Features

    Making ESG part and parcel of the DC investment process

    2018-06-27T00:00:00Z

    Earlier this year, the Environmental Audit Committee wrote to the UK’s largest 25 pension schemes to ask how they manage the risks climate change poses to retirement savings.

  • News

    Government sets out proposals for trustee ESG investment duties

    2018-06-19T00:00:00Z

    Trustees will be expected to publish a statement on how they take account of scheme members’ ethical views, if proposed requirements floated in a government consultation are implemented.

  • News

    SNP bill seeks PPF support for orphan liabilities

    2018-06-18T00:00:00Z

    A private members’ bill submitted by Scottish National Party MP Alan Brown last week could see the Pension Protection Fund taking on so-called orphan liabilities from multi-employer pension schemes.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Plumber wins workers' rights case

    2018-06-14T00:00:00Z

    The Supreme Court has upheld a verdict that Gary Smith, a former contractor who carried out work for Pimlico Plumbers between 2005 and 2011, was indeed a worker at the company and was consequently entitled to workers’ rights there.

  • Getty Images
    Features

    Commodity of the future: Does water have a place in pension portfolios?

    2018-06-13T00:00:00Z

    In North America, an inconspicuous object the size of a tennis ball has yielded significant returns for investors in what might be considered the world's cheapest, and also the most critical, commodity.

  • News

    Seeking members' ethical views could muddy DB waters, experts say

    2018-06-05T00:00:00Z

    The Environmental Audit Committee has proposeda requirement for schemes to actively seek the views of their members when producing their statement of investment principles, a move experts say could complicate matters for defined benefit trustees.