All Spence & Partners articles – Page 2
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FeaturesShell drills for liquidity and slashes return-seeking assets post valuation
Trustees of the Shell Contributory Pension Fund have overhauled the scheme’s investment strategy following its latest valuation, introducing new allocations to investment-grade and highly liquid assets, while cutting the fund’s return-seeking portfolio exposure.
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NewsGMB members accept revised pension offer from Historic Royal Palaces
Staff working for Historic Royal Palaces have accepted a revised offer on pension provision, ending months of dispute between the independent charity and the GMB trade union over the closure of their defined benefit scheme.
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Regulator reveals 45 per cent rise in dormant pots over 2018
The Pensions Regulator has uncovered a massive rise in the number of dormant defined contribution pots resulting from the introduction of auto-enrolment.
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NewsBaptist scheme pulls DGF for global infrastructure
Trustees of the defined benefit Baptist Pension Scheme have allocated to global infrastructure and dropped a struggling diversified growth fund manager.
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CDC consultation aims to avoid Dutch pitfalls
Collective defined contribution schemes will be designed to minimise intergenerational unfairness, according to the Department for Work and Pensions, as it announced plans to legislate for the benefit structure in late 2019.
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FeaturesJaguar scheme opts for forestry and farmland
The Jaguar Pension Plan has invested in agriculture and timber funds in a bid to diversify its portfolio and develop its exposure to opportunistic private markets.
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OpinionWhat mandatory tendering will mean for your scheme
Vineet Sood, senior investment consultant at Dalriada Trustees, explains what the Competition and Markets Authority’s competitive tender proposal could mean for trustees.
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NewsFord set to offer partial transfers
Ford has agreed to offer members of its defined benefit scheme the right to partially transfer out half of their pension as cash at retirement, allowing former employees greater flexibility in their benefits.
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News
Life expectancy flatlines for first time in decades
Life expectancy in the UK has flatlined in the last two years, according to the Office for National Statistics, with drops in the life expectancy of babies born in Scotland and Wales putting an end to decades of improving longevity.
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News
SES Water cites Ofwat price review in proposed scheme closure
SES Water, formerly known as Sutton and East Surrey Water, has opened a consultation with members on the closure of its defined benefit section to future accrual, citing efficiencies demanded by water regulator Ofwat.
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OpinionLGPS shared services: Loss of control or efficiency booster?
We have already witnessed some level of Local Government Pension Scheme shared services in investment and procurement, and it seems logical to extend this. But how can funds address issues related to valuations and contributions? David Davison at Spence & Partners discusses.
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Features
How can pension schemes support banks?
Analysis: Around 30 banks have entered into bank capital relief transactions with institutional investors, according to consultancy Aon, with the size of the market estimated at about £20bn, and continuing to grow rapidly.
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News
Trustees warned to be vigilant before approving superfund deals
Trustees eyeing a transfer into one of the UK’s nascent superfunds must consider the viability of the acquiring consolidation vehicle before consenting to a ‘buyout-lite’ deal, the Pensions Regulator’s executive director of frontline regulation has warned.
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FeaturesElectrocomponents scheme invests in bespoke pooled fund
The UK defined benefit scheme of FTSE 250 distributor Electrocomponents has moved much of its fixed income exposure into a qualifying investor alternative investment fund.
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News
More than half of charity DB schemes are now closed to accrual
Charities are catching up with private sector employers as the number of defined benefit schemes closed to accrual jumped to 58 per cent at February 2018 from 43 per cent a year earlier, according to consultancy Hymans Robertson.
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Features
Which schemes are destined for the PPF?
The majority of smaller stressed defined benefit schemes are likely to end up in the Pension Protection Fund, according to consultancy Barnett Waddingham, as it raised concerns that the Pensions Regulator's new tougher stance may remove vital flexibility from the system.
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OpinionWhy pension pros need to keep it simple
The Society of Pension Professionals’ Hugh Nolan on why it is important to keep pensions information clear and simple.
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Are trustees engaging with fiduciary managers properly?
Most trustees are perfectly capable of operating beyond the conflicts of interest inherent in fiduciary management, but some small schemes lack resources and support, according to experts.
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NewsLeonardo Helicopters extends Pie and switches to CPI
Leonardo Helicopters has decided to keep its scheme open to accrual but plans to extend a pension increase exchange while tweaking the inflation measure for future benefit build-up.
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Plymouth & South West Co-op introduces illiquids and cuts DGFs
The Plymouth & South West Co-operative Society pension fund is decreasing its diversified growth fund exposure and introducing a new allocation to illiquid credit.