All Zedra articles – Page 2
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News
UK assets up but savers still look to bricks and mortar
UK occupational pension assets grew 16.9 per cent over 2017 to cement Britain’s position as the second-largest market in the world, but concerning trends in saver attitudes suggest market returns may be masking fundamental problems.
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Opinion
Market Outlook 2018: Storms in the distance?
For a bull run that has been thought of as the most hated in history, the years since the global financial crisis have been kind to pension scheme asset values.
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Features
Distributed trust: Blockchain transactions to become 'commonplace'
Analysis: It is a humble back office function, yet blockchain has everyone excited. So what does its arrival in securities trading change for pension fund investors?
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News
PTL launches transaction cost service
Professional trustee company PTL said it has launched a service for asset managers aimed to help their clients assess investment transaction costs.
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Opinion
Cost disclosure framework must help schemes judge value
The Institutional Disclosure Working Group’s forthcoming framework for assessing investment costs will provide a vital boost to transparency, writes PTL’s Donny Hay, but trustees need help measuring value if a race to the bottom is to be avoided.
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News
Govt 'minded' to introduce mandatory trustee ESG statements
The government is to consult on whether trustees should be required to state their policies on sustainability, member concerns and stewardship, and will clarify current legislation as part of a wider push to increase pension investment in social and illiquid assets.
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NewsSony zooms in on buy-in saving with medical data
The UK scheme of Japanese electronics giant Sony agreed a buy-in in May this year, covering its highest liabilities, with medical underwriting carried out after the deal.
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OpinionMaster trust consolidation – at what cost?
Regulators should be wary of an overzealous insistence on consolidation to a specific number of mastertrusts, and must focus instead of clearly defined standards of governance, writes Colin Richardson from professional trustee company PTL.
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News
Covenant risk is dominating the DB agenda
Defined benefit trustees are becoming increasingly concerned about the strength of their employer covenants, a new survey has revealed, as Brexit uncertainty feeds into broader concerns about the future of sponsors.
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News
Timetable risks breaking dashboard consensus
The Association of British Insurers has called on government to legislate for schemes to provide their data to the pensions dashboard amid criticism a hasty delivery could leave the project failing consumers.
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Features
Slide towards retail investing faces backlash
Pensions Expert 20th Anniversary: March 19 2014 marked a seismic change in the UK pensions landscape: from the dispatch box in the House of Commons, future newspaper editor George Osborne announced the removal of the requirement to annuitise defined contribution savings, unlocking a world of possibility for scheme members.
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FeaturesBrexit will have little impact on admin, experts say
In pension terms, Brexit is widely expected to affect sponsor covenant and potentially regulation, but will it change how schemes pay pensioners who live in the EU?
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OpinionTrustee standards – an impractical election fever
From the blog: There is much debate on how to improve trustee standards. The Pensions Regulator has consulted and responded on what it calls 21st century trusteeship, and many ideas abound.
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Features
Mastertrusts and platforms: A match made in heaven?
Analysis: Greater efficiency and the ability to access a broader range of investments are some of the reasons why mastertrusts appoint third party investment platforms, but as with all providers, monitoring is key, experts say.
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FeaturesGKN scheme closures and debt issuance to combat £1bn deficit
Engineering firm GKN has closed its UK defined benefit pension schemes to future accrual, and plans to use proceeds from a debt issuance to plug a £1bn deficit on its UK post-retirement obligations.
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News
Now Pensions withdraws from mastertrust assurance list
Now Pensions has removed itself from the Pensions Regulator’s list of schemes that have obtained mastertrust assurance for automatic enrolment, citing historic problems processing client contributions.
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News
Over-confident savers back property before pensions
Almost half of UK savers continue to believe that property is the best way of providing for retirement, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics, which highlights the challenge facing government.
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News
Pensions Institute: Relax DB promises to tackle PPF drift
Stressed schemes and employers should be allowed to reduce pension increases and gain easier access to Pension Protection Fund-plus benefit-restructuring methods in order to minimise “PPF drift”, a new academic paper has said.
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Opinion
How do trustees choose the 'right' consultant?
The Financial Conduct Authority’s final report on the asset management market revealed that the investment consulting sector has not escaped the watchdog’s scrutiny, but pinning down criteria for a good consultant is not easy.
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Opinion
Is professionalism the answer to the governance dilemma?
The quality of trusteeship and pension fund governance has improved considerably over the past decade, but many schemes remain poorly governed; this was the view of the Work and Pensions Committee earlier this year.