Pensions Week articles from April 2003

Pensions Week archives from April 2003

News: Euro pensions to pick and choose.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Life and pensions companies in Europe will be given the right to choose which country to pay contributions into, in order to gain tax advantages, following a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling last week. Skandia in Sweden and Skandia...

News: SSAS specialist attacks Revenue 'double speak'.(Small self-administered scheme (SSAS) specialists' criticism of Inland Revenue relates to loan repayment rules)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Small self-administered scheme (SSAS) specialists have accused the Inland Revenue of changing the repayment rules on short-term SSAS loans, but passing it off as a "clarification". They also think it indicates that the Revenue will...

News: Cook's departure sees McCartney in Labour chair.(Robin Cook )(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Ian McCartney, the pensions minister, has been appointed chairman of the Labour party. He replaces John Reid, who will replace Robin Cook who resigned as Commons leader last month because of the government's stance on the war with Iraq....

News: Industry says 'no' to liabilities in pension scheme accounts.
April 7, 2003... Industry bodies are opposing proposals made by the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) that actuarial liabilities should be included in pension scheme accounts. Consultation, which is being conducted by the Pensions Research Accountants Group...

News: New risk models needed to protect from uncertainty.(New Financial Order: Risk in the 21st Century)(Book Review)
April 7, 2003... Pension funds and insurance companies need to help develop new models of risk management to protect ordinary people from increasing uncertainty, according to leading economist Professor Robert Shiller of Yale University. In his latest...

News: Flex benefits can help control costs.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Employers who incorporate their occupational pension scheme as part of a flexible benefits programme can realise savings on the 1% increase in national insurance contributions that comes into force on 6 April. Employer national insurance...

News: ICI equity outlook remains positive as fears increase over fund deficit.(Pension fund)
April 7, 2003... ICI has increased its outlook for equity returns as City analysts fear its pension fund deficit has plummeted from net GBP140m last year to net GBP688m on a FRS17 basis. Watson Wyatt, the scheme's actuaries, have surprised peers by...

News: Bray takes LAPFF marketing role.(Local Authority Pension Fund Forum)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has appointed Keith Bray, the ex-director of finance of Cardiff County Council as the forum officer. Bray will take on marketing responsibility for the forum and hopes to encourage more local...

News: LGIM to manage Highland fund during review period.(Legal and General Investment Management)(Highland County Council pension fund)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... The GBP405m Highland County Council pension fund has appointed Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) to manage 60% of the fund for around eight months. LGIM will manage the fund on a passive basis until the fund completes a fund...

News: Being left holding the baby could prove to be costly.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Having children could cost mothers GBP4,000 in lost pension benefits for each year of their baby breaks. Legislation from 6 April 2003 increases maternity leave and pay but the insurer AXA warns that it may compound the cost of baby breaks....

News: Devastating pensions statements will show employees just what they will get.
April 7, 2003... Ten million employees will this week begin to receive pension statements showing them potentially just how little their money could buy on retirement, compared to their previous expectations. The new statutory money purchase illustrations...

News: New AXA IM commodities fund returns 2%.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... AXA Investment Managers commodities fund benefited from a 2% growth in the sector since its launch in September 2002. Franz Wenzel, senior investment strategist for AXA, said the fund had low volatility over the period. The commodities...

News: Co-op latest insurer to suffer reduced bonuses.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... The Co-Operative Insurance Society (CIS) announced has reduced bonus rates for 2003. The company is the latest in a long line of insurers, including Standard Life, Prudential and Scottish Widows who have all announced reduced bonus rates...

News: US household spending more impacting on equities than war or oil, claims Davies.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Global growth in equities remains driven by US household spending, not war and oil, claims Barclays Global Investors' chief economist, Haydn Davies. The oil price is an important indicator of household spending but not as important as...

News: Gas man McCarthy takes FSA chair.(Callum McCarthy, United Kingdom. Financial Services Authority)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has appointed Callum McCarthy as its next chairman. He will replace Sir Howard Davies who has served as chairman since August 1997. McCarthy is currently chairman and chief executive of the Gas...

News: Scottish Widows goes into battle.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Scottish Widows has been selected to provide third-party administration services to the American Battle Monuments scheme and the Port of Boston scheme. The American Battle Monuments is a new scheme for which Scottish Widows will provide...

News: Standard Life guarantees not covered, claims analyst.
April 7, 2003... Standard Life is sitting on with-profit guarantees in pension contracts worth nearly half the value of its entire GBP25bn with-profits fund, according to independent insurance analyst, Ned Cazalet. Although Standard Life stopped writing...

News: Davis to chair task force.(Peter Davis)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Sir Peter Davis, J Sainsbury plc's chief executive, is to chair the Employer Task Force, a pensions think-tank set up by government. The task force's brief is to renew the partnership between individuals, employers, financial services...

News: Edis Partnerships gets its Coats.(Associated British Foods appoints the third party administrator)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Third party administrator Edis Partnerships has been appointed to provide pensions services to the Associated British Foods (ABF) and Coats pension schemes. Edis will provide IT, administration and accounting services to the ABF scheme,...

News: Green paper lacks ambition, says ACA.(Association of Consulting Actuaries)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... The Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) described the pensions green paper as showing a "lack of ambition" by the government. The ACA has argued that amendments to the state pension system are vital in order to convince employers to...

News: Pru calls for tax breaks.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Employers should be incentivised to contribute to occupational schemes through tax breaks, said a leading insurer. John Glendinning, Prudential's pensions strategy director, feels without this and similar radical action the pensions green...

News: Maestro - Come together.
April 7, 2003... Recent headlines have been lashing out at trustees for letting their schemes become underfunded, as though they had been asleep on the job and the sponsoring employers had only just been alerted to the problem. I suppose there must be some...

News: SSAS boost as Barnett buys Hymans' schemes.(Barnett Waddingham acquires Hymans Robertson's small self-administered scheme business)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Actuarial firm Barnett Waddingham has bought Hymans Robertson's small self- administered scheme (SSAS) business in a deal which will boost the number of SSASs it administers to around 1,900. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will involve...

News: Opra launches at a glance guides for trustees.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) has launched a new range of guides for trustees. The leaflets aim to provide simple "at a glance" information about the main duties that trustees have to carry out in order to comply...

News: Trustees pay for cash misquote.(Wallace & Co. pension scheme member Mrs. T. Macnamara is involved)
April 7, 2003... A trustee and an administrator have been asked to compensate a scheme member for financial loss by the pensions ombudsman, after they provided incorrect information on the amount of payment to be received from a scheme. The member of the...

News: Ombudsman Watch.(Airtours Plc pilot Andrew "David" Walton and Sun Life Assurance of Canada are involved in a case)
April 7, 2003... David v Goliath Folk wisdom would have it that the office of the pensions ombudsman can be a soft touch and that it is tough out there in the courts for the little man pitted against the Goliaths of this world. In today's case Andrew...

Pensions Green Paper Responses: Remove barriers which discourage low earners.(BC&E seeks government reforms)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... BC&E, the provider of financial products to the construction industry, gave a broad welcome to the green paper, but called on the government to be bolder in removing the barriers which discourage low earners from taking out stakeholder...

Pensions Green Paper Responses: State system needs reform.
April 7, 2003... The decision by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) not consult on changes to the state pension scheme in its green paper has been heavily criticised in many responses to the green paper. Many respondents were critical of the...

Pensions Green Paper Responses: Pensions should come with a warning.
April 7, 2003... Actuaries have effectively called for an end to the pensions promise by recommending that government health warnings be applied to occupational pensions, alerting members that their retirement income could fall well short of what they expect....

Pensions Green Paper Responses: Contracting out has failed.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Contracting out of the state pension scheme is a failed experiment and should be scrapped, the UK's top actuary has told the government. Ronald Bowie, chairman of the the actuarial profession's pensions board, said the increased costs of...

News: Events - CIPFA conference.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Public sector pension funds will come under the spotlight at this year's annual CIPFA conference, to be held in Harrogate from 10 to 12 June. John Whiteoak, adviser on public sector governance, will chair the session, which will be held on...

News: Events - NAPF conference.(National Association of Pensions Funds)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... The National Association of Pensions Funds (NAPF) annual conference takes place in Glasgow from Thursday 22 May and will last for two days. The conference will touch on most major issues of the past year, with most of the Thursday morning...

News: Events - Tax seminars.(Barnett Waddingham will hold the seminars)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Actuarial consultancy Barnett Waddingham is to hold tax simplification seminars detailing its response to the Inland Revenue. The seminars will be held at all five of the firm's UK offices in April. Dates are: London (23), Amersham...

News: Events - Property conference.
April 7, 2003... A conference discussing property investment for public sector pension funds will be held on 5 June 2003 at The Grange Hotel in London. La Salle, Deutsche, Schroder and Merrill Lynch are supporting the event. The event is organised partly by...

News: Private equity appeal peaks at 5%.
April 7, 2003... Pension scheme interest in private equity appears to have peaked at less than 5% of assets, with many funds saying they do not expect more growth in the sector within the UK economy. The number of funds that said the Paul Myners review of...

News: AXA IM braves the equity storm, saying worst is over.(AXA Investment Managers)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... AXA Investment Managers has reduced its overweight equity position to raise cash in readiness to buy attractively priced shares in the belief that the worst is over for equity markets. AXA said it took the recent relief rally as an...

News: Investment confidence slumps to three-year low.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Investment sentiment remains at one of its lowest points in three years, according to the JP Morgan Fleming Investor Confidence Survey. Nearly half (47%) of the 500 private investors sampled believe the stock market will be lower in six...

Governance Watch: Declaring the dividend.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... When share prices are falling, gaining an income from a dividend probably has great attractions for shareholders. Indeed, when companies indicate they may cut their dividend payments, this can be seen as an extra sign of weakness in already...

Spotlight: What's the score with the ratings agencies?
April 7, 2003... Do we need rating agencies? Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch are ubiquitous. The last three years have seen a huge increase in the issuance of sterling and euro-denominated corporate bonds and without a rating from at least two and...

Opinion: Leader - Awakening the green-eyed monster.(Column)
April 7, 2003... Over the last year or so a phenomenon, which might be called pensions benefit jealousy, has cropped up as an issue in the press and elsewhere. Normally the syndrome takes the form of a media commentator saying how outrageous it is that public...

Opinion: Personal View - Company Bill: like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.(Column)
April 7, 2003... Disclosure, disclosure, disclosure. That's the buzzword that has been reverberating around the UK financial services industry for months as a result of numerous Financial Services Authority reviews. Now the government is joining the call with...

Opinion: Inside View - Should we count on the committees?
April 7, 2003... Corporate governance is under the spotlight in the corporate world and quite rightly so. This year has seen publication of both the Higgs report and the Smith report. The former has caused a great deal of controversy and a number of leading...

People on the move: Iacono strengthens State Street cash management team.(State Street Global Advisors appoint Jill Iacono as senior marketing manager)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), the investment management arm of State Street Corporation, has strengthened its cash management team with the appointment of Jill Iacono as senior marketing manager. Based in London, Iacono will be...

People on the move: F&C brings in Grainger to set his sights on sovereign bonds.(F&C Fund Management appoints Paul Grainger director of UK bonds)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... F&C Fund Management, the pan-European asset manager, has appointed Paul Grainger as director of UK bonds. Grainger has more than eight years experience and was previously a senior fixed income portfolio manager at Gartmore. There he...

People on the move: Gotta have Faith, says Sackers as discrimination expert moves on up.(Pensions law firm Sacker & Partners appoints Faith Dickson as partner)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Pensions law firm Sacker & Partners has appointed a new partner and an associate. Faith Dickson has been promoted as partner. She has practised as a specialist pensions lawyer for more than eight years. Dickson has a particular...

News Just In... : Funds fight to outlaw 2-year contracts.
April 7, 2003... Pension funds intensified their fight to outlaw two-year rolling contracts for chief executives last week after Bob Mendelsohn, the ousted chief executive of insurance giant Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA), was paid GBP2.5m for the nine months he...

News Just In... : Gartmore follows Myners and splits commission.(Gartmore Investment Management)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Gartmore Investment Management has split the commission it pays to brokers in a measure that springs from the Paul Myners investment review. Agreements between Gartmore and two brokers - Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch - mean that if...

News Just In... : BAM, Threadneedle win specialist briefs from Torfaen.(Torfaen County Borough Council hires Baring Asset Management and Threadneedle Asset Management)
April 7, 2003... Torfaen County Borough Council has dropped fund manager Gartmore Investment Management following a decision to move to specialist mandates. Baring Asset Management (BAM) has been selected to manage an active specialist mandate of GBP43m...

News: Milk members sour over benefits.(Milk Pension Fund members oppose closure of pension scheme )
April 21, 2003... Deferred members of the Milk Pension Fund have vowed to fight plans to close their pension scheme which could leave them with reduced benefits. The planned closure comes as a result of changes at the Milk Pension Fund since it was set up...

News: Schemes dominate NAPF councils after elections.(National Association of Pension Fund)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Pension schemes have increased their dominance on the National Association of Pension Fund's (NAPF) investment and benefits councils after the latest elections. Schemes now have 11 out of 14 places on the benefits council and 10 out of 14...

News: More saving for retirement despite low confidence levels.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... The amount of people saving or intending to save for a pension appears to be increasing, despite low levels of consumer confidence. Research found that 35% of adults surveyed, compared to 30% in June last year, intend to save regularly in a...

News: Claybrook, DWP join forces to produce combined statement.
April 21, 2003... Pensions software provider Claybrook said it has taken the first step to help the industry issue members with combined pensions forecasts. Claybrook worked closely with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help develop a system...

News: James Hay records 29% increase.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... James Hay, one of the UK's largest independent providers of self-invested personal pensions (Sipps), has seen a 29% increase in its corporate business in the first quarter of 2003. As a major Sipps and small self-administered scheme (SSAS)...

News: James Hay records 29% increase.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... James Hay, one of the UK's largest independent providers of self-invested personal pensions (Sipps), has seen a 29% increase in its corporate business in the first quarter of 2003. As a major Sipps and small self-administered scheme (SSAS)...

News: HSBC cuts deficit in final salary scheme with oe500m injection.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... HSBC has injected GBP500m into its closed final salary scheme to help reduce a significant deficit. The move follows HSBC Holdings announcement of a pre-tax profit of approximately GBP6.1bn in 2002, a 21% increase compared with 2001. ...

News: Equitable pays for late information.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... The pensions ombudsman has told Equitable Life to pay a member compensation after the troubled mutual failed to provide information on retirement benefits when requested. The member - Mrs B Armour - took her complaint to the ombudsman...

News: Sygen to sue Watson as surplus plunges by oe2.2m.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Sygen, a California based animal breeding firm, is poised to sue Watson Wyatt over alleged inappropriate advice given to the trustees of the Dalgety Pension Fund in the 1990s. A spokesman for Watson Wyatt said that the firm had been in...

News: Scot Life reduces bonus rates.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Scottish Life, the Edinburgh based independent financial adviser marketing division of Royal London, has reacted to the continued fall in worldwide stockmarket values by reducing their terminal bonus rates, including those for pension policies....

News: FSA's final salary move wins applause.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... The Financial Services Authority (FSA) decision to award lower pay rises to staff who are members of its final salary scheme has been applauded by accountants Grant Thornton. The FSA made the move in a bid to avoid closing the scheme all...

News: NAPF push for Higgs' governance principles.
April 21, 2003... The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has urged the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to stand firm and accept Derek Higgs' principles on corporate governance. Higgs reaffirms the "comply or explain" approach to the governance...

News: Director's DB offer enrages Unifi.
April 21, 2003... Lloyds TSB (LTSB) has come under fire by finance union Unifi after it discovered that the bank was offering its new chief executive a final salary pension, a scheme that was closed to new LSTB staff in 1997. Unifi accused LTSB of unfairness...

News: Past performance pressure on FSA as study backfires.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is coming under increasing pressure to include information about the past performance of investment funds in comparative tables, following the findings of a report by Professor David Blake that the FSA...

News: Closed book business urged to open up to technology.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Closed book business has largely been forgotten about by product providers and so has the increasing cost of administering it, a situation which is set to worsen as their numbers increase dramatically. These policies - which account for a...

News: Friends Provident goes for flexibility in an open market.
April 21, 2003... Friends Provident is road testing a multi-management product which it intends to launch through corporate independent financial advisers later this year. Jeremy Ward, head of pensions marketing at Friends Provident, explained that the...

News: Bureaux pumps up staff with GE cash.(The Bureaux Group)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Specialist financial adviser The Bureaux Group - which includes The Annuity Bureau - is to expand following an undisclosed cash injection from GE Insurance. The Bureaux Group's plans include the recruitment of more staff and the continued...

News: oe42.5m direct property portfolio heads to Teesland.(Teesland Fund Management acquires a portfolio from King Sturge)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... The Osprey Limited Partnership, which is supported by the BT & Post Office pension fund, has acquired a GBP42.5m direct property portfolio. The portfolio was acquired by Teesland Fund Management from King Sturge. The portfolio is...

News: Aegon removes fund temptations.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Aegon Asset Management UK has successfully implemented its Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) across its entire range of institutional pension funds. GIPS promotes full disclosure by removing the fund manager's ability to pick...

News: Benchmark - War, what was it good for?
April 21, 2003... Received wisdom was that an early resolution to the war in Iraq would lower oil prices and boost market confidence. This in turn would remove some obstacles to a solid US economic expansion. Even before the fighting was over, market...

News: Timid DWP report avoids the key issues, says NAPF.(Department for Work and Pensions and National Association of Pension Funds)
April 21, 2003... An MPs' report on UK pensions ducks issues and misses opportunities, the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) select committee report on the future of UK pensions fails to make strong...

Tax Simplification: Another way to calculate lifetime limits.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Scottish Widows has proposed a "radically different approach" to the GBP1.4m lifetime limit on the value of pensions proposed by the Inland Revenue. This approach would enable government policy to be implemented without the need for...

Tax Simplification: Aegon rejects lump sum rule.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... The UK arm of giant life insurer Aegon, which owns Scottish Equitable, is telling the government it is "categorically" unwilling to keep money from an income drawdown fund on the death of a customer. Under current proposals in the Inland...

Tax Simplification: These proposals are not enough, says EEF.(Engineering Employers Federation)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... The government's proposals for simplifying the taxation of pensions are not enough to make a real impact, says the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF). David Yeandle, EEF deputy director of employment policy, said: "To achieve [more...

Ombudsman Watch.
April 21, 2003... As promised last week, I look at some cases decided by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS); plus a Court of Appeal (CA) case upholding a very pessimistic employment tribunal view of the chances of someone ever finding a job with an employer...

News: Baring product to take advantage of growth in Asia.(Baring Asset Management)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Baring Asset Management (BAM) has launched a new Asian fund of hedge funds in an attempt to capitalise on economic growth the region. Managed by Tom Maier, head of BAM's alternative investment team, the investments will be spread between a...

News: CSAM looks to retail for best UK property returns.(Credit Suisse Asset Management)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... The UK property investment market will be led by returns from retail units for the rest of this year, although figures will be down on last year's 14%, says Credit Suisse Asset Management's (CSAM) head of property, Glenn Newson. Office...

News: IMA shows off record fund level.(Investment Management Association)
April 21, 2003... The beleaguered investment management industry announced a record number of funds under management despite volatility in market conditions that have wiped billions of pounds off portfolio values. The Investment Management Association (IMA),...

News: 'Consolidate to save'.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Fund managers should pool their smaller retail funds to gain economies of scale and save on costs, a consultancy has said. Fund pooling could save managers GBP700m in management costs - savings that could be passed on to clients. ...

News: Queen's prize for SSgA enterprise.(State Street Global Advisors)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... State Street Global Advisors' UK office has been awarded the Queen's Award for enterprise in international trade. The award recognises State Street's success in increasing its international business, through a series of initiatives that...

News: Real estate boom sweeps Sweden.(Aberdeen Property Investors report)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... The Swedish property market is likely to see the strongest performance over the next three years, according to Aberdeen Property Investors (API). The fund manager said the Swedish market is expected to do better than other European markets...

News: Fund managers braced for possible dollar devaluation.
April 21, 2003... Fund managers are nervously watching the US dollar and taking out insurance against its devaluation. They say the US current account and budget deficits represent a threat to the currency, said David Bowers, chief investment strategist at...

News: AXA keeps belief in American market.(AXA Investment Managers)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... US price-earnings (P/E) ratios suggest that American equities might be 20% overvalued if compared to average P/E ratios of last century. But this is wrong, said AXA Investment Managers, which argues that when investors start to look beyond...

News: Survey shows equities are going down by up to 10%.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Equity markets will be subdued for the next five years, say industry experts, and most fund managers will reduce their equity exposure by about 10% in the next 12 months. Many pension fund investors believe that markets will see...

News: Events - Effective trusteeship.
April 21, 2003... Lane Clark & Peacock will hold courses in effective trusteeship on Thursday 5 June and Thursday 9 October. Both will be in London and cost GBP280 plus VAT. An introduction to pensions course will be held on Thursday 22 May and Thursday 25...

News: Events - Business transfers.
April 21, 2003... Law firm Norton Rose will hold a breakfast seminar aimed at trustees and others interested in pensions aspects of business transfers on Tuesday 20 May. The seminar will be chaired by Lesley Browning, a partner in Norton Rose's pensions...