Report
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August, 2019
Avon reviews investment strategy to cut equities
The Avon Pension Fund, with assets valued at £4.6 billion, has reviewed its investment strategy, in order to reduce its equities allocation from 50% to 40% of total fund assets, with a long-term view of further reducing its exposure to 37.5%. This reduction was driven by the scheme’s improved funding level due to strong asset returns, said David ...
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August, 2019
Brunel PP kicks off research phase for sustainable equities offering
Brunel Pension Partnership has begun the process of building its sustainable equities offering for its 10 LGPS Client Funds. The objectives of the sustainable equities sub-fund, which is part of Brunel’s active equities range, will be to provide exposure to sustainable focused companies within the global equities market and will aim to generate excess ...
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August, 2019
Barnett Waddingham revamps fiduciary management services
Previously called Fiduciary Management Oversight, Barnett Waddingham’s fiduciary management services has now changed to FM Evaluate. The move recognises the evolution of the service to offer much more than simply oversight, said Peter Daniels, senior investment consultant and FM Evaluate’s newly-appointed head. “The service we deliver goes way ...
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August, 2019
PLSA launches ESG guidance for pension fund trustees
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published a new guide to help pension fund trustees comply with new environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements coming into force from 1 October and support them in achieving good practice into the future. Using myth-busters, case studies and questions that trustees should be asking of ...
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August, 2019
Fully funded UK schemes face new challenges
Investment consultant Aon has produced polling results from its Annual Pension Conference, held last Spring, that show that defined benefit pension schemes are beginning to grapple with the challenge of being fully funded or being on track to be fully funded. With around 30% of schemes in a fully funded position on a technical provisions basis, and more ...
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August, 2019
Border to Coast launches private market offerings
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has launched its first offerings for private equity and infrastructure with more than £1 billion of commitments from partner funds. These are the first offerings in Border to Coast’s private markets programme, which is expected to grow to £10 billion over the long term. Border to Coast launched its private equity ...
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August, 2019
Liontrust to buy rival Neptune
Specialist investment company Liontrust Asset Management is to acquire Neptune Investment Management, subject to regulatory approval. This will increase Liontrust’s assets under management by £2.8 billion to £17 billion. The announcement followed a release by the London Stock Exchange on 29 July 2019. All of the Neptune’s investment team, headed ...
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August, 2019
Support for outcomes-based approach
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds should start preparing now for the introduction of an “outcomes-based” approach to improve fund governance standards, according to investment consultant Hymans Robertson. The proposal, which has been adopted by the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board (SAB), reflects the responses to the firm’s recent industry-wide ...
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June, 2019
Unison warns over LGPS opt-out proposals
Unison, the public sector trade union, has warned that government plans to allow universities and colleges to opt out of the LGPS for new non-teaching staff could have harmful consequences. Unison national secretary, Jon Richards, said that proposals could damage cash flows at LGPS funds, affecting LGPS members as a whole. Currently, post-1992 ...
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June, 2019
PLSA seeks to raise workforce reporting standards
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), the trade body for pension funds in the UK, has invited business leaders to meet with pension funds to discuss their reporting of employment models and working practices. The PLSA chief executive, Julian Mund, wrote a letter to the chairmen of the FTSE 100 companies, saying that pension funds managing ...
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