Pensions Week articles from August 2002

Pensions Week archives from August 2002

News: PW exposes pension cheats.(Pensions Week)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Pensions Week can reveal the company at the centre of allegations that its directors cashed in their pensions before abandoning the scheme and left an employee virtually penniless after 38 years of saving for a pension. Listern & Co, a...

News: Pickering report is not finished article, say schemes.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... UK pension schemes say the Pickering proposals into pensions simplification did not go far enough, a survey by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) shows. The NAPF found that 75% of schemes interviewed felt more should have...

News: Fat cat pay spirals as markets plunge.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... As stock markets tumbled, executives earning more than GBP500,000 averaged 16.1% pay increases last year, according to an independent trade union research house. The Labour Research Department claimed more than 350 directors - a new record...

News: Brent Council ventures into DTI's private equity fund.(Department of Trade and Industry)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... The GBP340m London Borough of Brent pension fund has switched money out of UK quoted companies into a government private equity fund. The fund, known as the Capital Fund, was launched by the Department of Trade and Industry last year and...

News: Hertfordshire to pop oe50m into private equity.(Hertfordshire pension fund)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... The GBP1.2bn Hertfordshire pension fund is to tender for a GBP50m private equity mandate. The council decided to go out to tender after a change in the scheme's benchmark. Following recommendations made in the Myners report last year,...

News: MHRC replaces Towers Perrin at Millennium fund.(Mercer Human Resource Consulting)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Mercer Human Resource Consulting (MHRC) has replaced Towers Perrin as pension services provider to the GBP50m Millennium Inorganic Chemicals fund. MHRC will provide actuarial, investment and consulting services for the UK scheme. The...

News: Wind-ups on the mend as Opra makes inroads into backlog.(Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority)
August 5, 2002... The pensions regulator has not issued any orders to make employers speed up pension scheme wind-ups since receiving increased powers in April this year. The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) says the wind-up situation is...

News: Councillors rally MPs to join local government fund.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Midlands MPs have been rallied by councillors who want to join the local government pension scheme (LGPS). Currently, non-executive elected council representatives are not eligible to join the scheme despite support from the Local...

News: MFR could spark stream of credit downgrades as markets plunge.(minimum funding requirement)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... The minimum funding requirement (MFR) is more likely to lead to credit downgrades for sponsoring UK companies than new pensions accounting standard FRS17, claimed a leading ratings agency last week. Standard & Poor's (S&P) last week forced...

News: Friends Provident cuts with-profits bonus rates.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Friends Provident has joined other with-profit providers in announcing reductions to its regular and final bonus rates on unitised with-profit policies and final bonus rates on conventional policies. The life company said this would result...

News: Compulsion is the wave of the future.(mandatory pension funding)
August 5, 2002... Greater pensions compulsion and independence from politicians is needed to minimise future pensioner poverty, claimed an influential group of members of parliament last week. The Pensions Reform Group (PRG), led by former Labour pensions...

News: Politicians and industry are UPP for it.(Universal Protected Pension)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Paul Myners, chairman of the Guardian Media Group, welcomed the Universal Protected Pension (UPP) as having much to offer last week. He added: "The UPP puts the investment risk on the widest shoulders possible; wider than defined benefit...

News: Pointon York sets up one-stop-Sipps-shop.(self-invested personal pension)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... A self-invested personal pension (Sipp) provider has launched a property purchase scheme to provide independent financial advisers and their clients with access to a range of specialists offering financing, legal advice and conveyancing...

News: Dunedin in venture to broaden high net worth offerings.(Fund manager Dunedin Independent)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Fund manager Dunedin Independent has formed an association with European Pension Management to improve the self-invested personal pension (Sipp) products it offers to high net worth clients. Instead of only being able to offer a portfolio...

News: Mis-selling: devil's in the detail.
August 5, 2002... Public mis-trust of many independent financial advisers (IFAs) may have been totally misplaced as new official figures reveal they were not responsible for the bulk of the pensions mis-selling scandal. Data from the Financial Ombudsman...

News: MoM likes Currie and Goldman mix.(manager of managers Frank Russell adds Martin Currie Investment Management and Goldman Sachs to portfolio of managers)
August 5, 2002... Martin Currie Investment Management and Goldman Sachs have been added to manager of managers (MoM) Frank Russell's portfolio of managers. Martin Currie has been added because of its Japanese equity expertise and joins three other managers...

News: Fund managers in the firing line.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Almost two-fifths of European institutional investors have sacked a fund manager in the last 18 months, according to a survey published last week. It also found that many European pension funds employ fund managers who fail to demonstrate...

News: Left Field - The road to compulsion.
August 5, 2002... The Pensions Reform Group (PRG) has delivered its final report. While there is masses of detail involved in the scheme, its basic idea is very simple. The outstanding welfare success for the past 100 years has been the company pension scheme....

News: Pensions is the word as unions head for Blackpool.(Trades Union Congress annual conference)
August 5, 2002... Occupational pensions will take centre stage at next month's Trades Union Congress (TUC) annual conference with over a dozen pensions motions being debated. As the number of final salary pension scheme closures soars and equity markets...

News: Ombudsman out of line with time.(law firm complains to financial regulator about lack of time limit on complaints against financial advisers)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... A commercial law firm has complained to the financial regulator over the lack of a time limit on complaints against financial advisers. Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) has called on the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to bring the time...

News: FSA issues guidance on windfall top-ups.(Financial Services Authority)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... The Financial Services Authority (FSA) published guidance on how firms calculating mis-selling compensation payments should treat windfalls last week. Since the Needler judgment in July 2001, firms were required to stop calculating cases...

News: Ombudsman gives Chase and secures oe10,000 for (refurbished) nest egg.
August 5, 2002... The pensions ombudsman ruled that a London council pension fund must pay more than ten thousand pounds extra to a scheme member after misquoting benefit figures. Mrs Chase, a member of the GBP439m Barking and Dagenham pension scheme, took...

News: Friends reunited in first round of appointments.(Friends Ivory & Sime announces fund manager appointments)
August 5, 2002... Friends Ivory & Sime (FIS) revealed its first round of fund manager appointments last week and confirmed that most are ex-Royal & Sun Alliance Investment Management (RSAIM) staff. The latest bout of appointments confirm former RSAIM employees...

News: Confidence in emerging markets credit returns.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Corporate credit quality in emerging markets has improved more than four-fold in the first six months of this year, according to a report by credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P). Last week's report showed that the ratio of...

News: MoM's the word as traditional specialists flounder in falling markets.(Managers of managers)
August 5, 2002... Managers of managers (MoMs) have enjoyed substantial growth in the last 12 months as traditional specialist managers struggle to retain pension funds in falling markets, according to exclusive PW research. MoMs expect continued growth as...

Governance Watch: Summer recess hots up the pace.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... The government and MPs were busy before the summer recess of parliament, producing their thoughts on the regulation of auditors. There is agreement that auditors need to be seen to be independent to give more confidence to investors. The...

Opinion: Leader - Deliver us from politicians.(Editorial)
August 5, 2002... As pension funds and members of parliament recover from wading through last month's Pickering and Sandler simplification reports, another savings tome is about to hit their desks. Last week, the Pensions Reform Group (PRG) - with such...

Opinion: Legal View - Biting the hand that feeds you.(Editorial)
August 5, 2002... Employers may not be happy to discover that if an employee steals from or defrauds them or negligently causes them significant monetary loss, the employee may still be entitled to a pension from the employer's occupational pension scheme....

Opinion: Jump Start - Shaping the future.(Editorial)
August 5, 2002... Last year saw GBP12,243m of funds committed by external institutions and private individuals to UK managed private equity funds for future investment. This was an increase of 36% on the GBP8,995m of funds raised in 2000. Overseas investors were...

Opinion: Letters - Stand up and be counted.
August 5, 2002... Am I being thin-skinned, or is it a bit harsh to suggest the NAPF is responsible for perceived shortcomings in the Sandler and Pickering reports (NAPF blew it say small schemes - PW 22.7.02)? We welcomed both reports as valuable steps...

Opinion: Letters - Investors of the world unite.
August 5, 2002... In the wake of last week's vote on Vodafone's remuneration policy, where 15% of shareholders failed to support the company, there are a couple of points worth making about future remuneration policies in advance of the incoming annual...

Special Report: QUANT - It's time to start spreading the word.
August 5, 2002... Quant management techniques are spreading rapidly into fundamental investment management as a complex investment world puts increasing pressure on asset managers. More and more of them are adopting technology-based tools for controlling risk...

Special Report: Play your cards right.
August 5, 2002... Trustees and others who appoint fund managers have a difficult choice to make between widely differing investment styles. The choice between traditional and quantitative active management must seem a particularly hard one. Nowadays, the best...

Supplement: Information Platform - MoM - Intro.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Exceptionally volatile equity markets and pension funds' desire for specialist managers rather than balanced managers - especially as this percolates to smaller pension funds - is benefiting managers of managers (MoMs). As pension funds employ...

Supplement: Information Platform - MoM - The blooming success of manager of managers.
August 5, 2002... In the gloomiest investment period since the mid-1970s, it is difficult to find a blossoming sector of fund management, but managers of managers (MoMs) have managed to make dramatic inroads into the UK market despite the gloom. And as funds...

Supplement: Information Platform - MoM - How to invest in hedge funds.
August 5, 2002... The merits and shortcomings of hedge funds have been hotly debated recently and yet many investors are still far from understanding what hedge funds are. While hedge funds often defy simple categorisation, certain things are clear. The hedge...

People on the move: My first job - Mike McMillen, Marketing manager, MNPA.(Interview)
August 5, 2002... What was your first job? Apart from a spell in delivering papers and other gainful employment, my first "serious job" was in the City working for Scottish Widows. What made you stand out over other applicants? Possibly my lack of...

People on the move: Mackintosh reigns at Aegon.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Aegon Asset Management has strengthened its institutional investment team with two senior appointments. Jamie Mackintosh joins as business development manager from Henderson Global Investors. He will report to Louise Waugh who has been...

People on the move: AIG targets IFAs.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... AIG Life has strengthened its practice with the appointment of a sales director and marketing manager. Mike Phillips joins as national sales director and will help develop AIG Life's presence in the IFA market. Mark Hutchinson joins as...

People on the move: Keegan scores with Gartmore.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Fund manager Gartmore has appointed Nigel Keegan as global healthcare analyst. Reporting to Liam Pagliaro, head of equity research, he will take on responsibility for research into the healthcare sector. Keegan has over 16 years...

People on the move: Fresh talent at Schroders.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Fund manager Schroders has boosted its global credit research team with the appointment of Anders Persson and Suzanne Ferlic. Persson joins as credit analyst covering the telecom, media and technology sectors. He has previously worked...

People on the move: New star shines at SSC.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... State Street Corporation has appointed Justin Shinebourne as head of equity sales, Europe. He joins from Morgan Stanley where he was executive director of pan-European equity. Prior to that he was at ABN-AMRO. Shinebourne will be based...

People on the move: Sperber ventures to MLIM.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) has appointed Marcus Sperber as fund manager in its property team. He joins from Ashtenne where he was head of property development. In his new role, he will report to Adam Kerr, a director in...

People on the move: Ahto to head PIMCO operations.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... Fund manager PIMCO has appointed Laura Ahto as senior vice president and head of operations and administration in the London office. She will take on responsibility for European operations, infrastructure, and business management. ...

Whistle Blower: Pickering stumbles over jargon mix-up.(Brief Article)(Column)
August 5, 2002... Whistle blower was glad to be put out of his simplification complex last week. We had been perplexed at the Pickering report's use of "indexation" on pages 14 and 67 for two totally different reasons (PW 15.7.02). Arthur Cox's Philip Smith...

Whistle Blower: Pension providers are actually budding Billy Elliots at heart.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... After a hard day in the City it seems many financial services people like to do nothing more in the evenings than find some peace and quiet at the ballet. Amazingly, it seems that a few hours watching people in tights dancing about on stage...

Whistle Blower: It's all lights, camera, action at PPG conference.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... As the pension crisis mounted last week, Pension Provision Group members were busy shuffling around trying to present their best profile for the photographer as they readied themselves to unleash new plans. First, Frank Field, godfather of...

News Just In...: Pensions nightmare gets worse.
August 5, 2002... Overoptimistic pension fund assumptions are flattering company profits by 5% and could lead to savage cuts in future profits, claimed an investment house last week. A report by Nomura found that profits would tumble by 21% if pension funds...

News Just In...: Cheshire smiles on private equity with new mandate.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... The GBP1.5bn Cheshire County Council pension fund has gone out to tender for a GBP75m private equity mandate. A spokesman at the scheme said the fund's investment panel decided to go out to tender for the mandate to reduce risk in returns...

News Just In...: LCP survey to show increase in pensions transparency.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2002... A pensions accounting survey out today (Monday) is expected to show that new accounting standard FRS17 has improved disclosure levels at the UK's biggest companies. Investment consultant Lane Clark & Peacock's (LCP) ninth annual survey of...

Part-timers' ruling inflames firemen.(Not eligible for pensions)
August 12, 2002... The firefighters union is ready to march on Europe and challenge a tribunal ruling that certain firemen were not part-timers. Over 16,000 firefighters remain ineligible for pension entitlements as a consequence of the ruling, which union...

Lower bond yields to trigger flood of scheme deficits.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Pension scheme deficits are set to come under fresh pressure from lower long- term interest rates, pension experts warned last week. A flood of pension fund reports over recent weeks (see p4) have highlighted the devastating effect of...

ABI and BBA quit merger talks.(Association of British Insurers)(British Bankers Association)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... The insurers and bankers associations have turned their back on a merger following talks with members. The Association of British Insurers and the British Bankers Association decided not to go ahead with a new body to represent both...

News: NAPF election a chance to shake big-company image.(National Association of Pension Funds)
August 12, 2002... Next spring's election of council members to the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) will be a defining moment for the organisation and the acid test of its claims to represent schemes of all sizes. There is mounting momentum for...

News: Norwich Union invests in acquila's administration.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Norwich Union has signed a multi-million contract with pensions software provider acquila to manage the administration of its defined benefit portfolio. Norwich Union will use acquila's new pensions administration system, known as...

News: New IT page launched in PW.
August 12, 2002... Technology is playing an ever more vital role for hard-pressed pension fund departments and investment houses. This week, we launch a new monthly IT watch page (p 27) to keep readers up to date with the latest developments in IT. To find out...

News: Emerging markets up 30% since September.
August 12, 2002... Emerging market equities have soared by almost 30% since September, strongly outperforming their developed world counterparts despite political unrest in the region. The asset class experienced a 7.5% decline in the second quarter, which...

News: Lister dispute deepens as GMP crisis looms.
August 12, 2002... Members of an insolvent company's pension scheme are to lose their minimum pension rights. Independent trustees of the Lister & Co pension scheme - which Pensions Week revealed last week to be at the centre of a dispute that left one...

News: Ignorance sparks too many disputes.(Pensions finance)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Pension scheme members are ending up in disputes with trustees because they don't know what information they are entitled to. According to the Pensions Advisory Service (OPAS), an increasing number of disputes between members and their...

News: MLIM braced for more suits.(Merrill Lynch Investment Managers)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) faces further legal battles from disgruntled pension schemes after a second fund reached an out of court settlement with MLIM last week. Following its undisclosed settlement with the GBP2.6bn J...

News: Opas blasts Parsons over oe5m shortfall.(Pension schemes in jeopardy caused by US companies)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Hundreds of UK employees face having their pension benefits halved if their US parent company does not meet a GBP5m scheme shortfall. Members of engineering company Parsons Group pension scheme could lose up to half of their benefits as the...

News: FTSE-100 scheme deficits hit oe25bn, warns LCP.(pensions in financial trouble)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... FTSE-100 companies are facing a combined deficit of GBP25bn posing a serious risk to company balance sheets, according to a survey published last week. The pension funds of Allied Domecq, Daily Mail, Smiths Industries, Rolls Royce and...

News: Deal makers in FRS17 fall out.(pension scheme deficits)
August 12, 2002... Several corporate deals have been pulled because of mounting concerns over mushrooming pension scheme deficits, warned lawyers last week. Shortfalls in final salary pension schemes have jeopardised several planned acquisitions, according...

News: Companies play the waiting game with new accounting rules.(PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. survey; accounting standard FRS17)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Only 4% of the UK's 250 largest companies have adopted new accounting standard FRS17 in full, claimed a financial services company last week. The survey of FRS17 from financial services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found two out of a...

News: Equity risks up to 10% understated as analysts underestimate pension risk.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Institutional investors are significantly underestimating the pension risks to companies in their calculations of equity risks, claimed a leading investment house last week. The extra disclosures inspired by new pensions accounting standard...

News: Size matters for Pickering.(small pension funds enthusiastic about Pickering report)
August 12, 2002... Small pension schemes are most enthusiastic about last month's Pickering report, despite initial criticisms from some quarters that the report was biased towards large final salary schemes. An exclusive Pensions Week survey shows that 52%...

News: Aegon in oe6m SWIP swap pension steal.(James Latham PLC appoints Aegon Asset Management; Scottish Widows Investment Partnership previous fund manager)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Aegon Asset Management has bagged GBP8.8m worth of pension assets with GBP6m coming from rival fund manager Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP). The fund manager was appointed to run a GBP6m fixed income brief at timber importer...

News: Grey vote not amused by elitist Pickering report.(Alliance of occupational Pensioners, pensioners association, attacks Alan Pickering's report)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... A pensioners association has attacked Alan Pickering's report into simplification as being biased against the ordinary working person. The Alliance of occupational Pensioners (AoP) said the report was "biased towards the interests of big...

News: Liberata maintains momentum with oe50m AXA contract.(Liberata Life, Pensions and Investments outsourcing contract with AXA Sun Life)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Liberata Life, Pensions & Investments has won a GBP50m ten-year outsourcing contract with AXA Sun Life. Liberata now administers more than two million policies, which it claims puts it on par with a top 20 UK life company. Glen Timms,...

News: Insider - Holding back the tide.(Alan Pickering; reversing changes in the pensions movement)
August 12, 2002... For many employers - Sainsbury's included - SS Final Salary set sail with its final passengers a little while ago. Now, for better or worse, many employees must paddle their own canoes, hopefully with the aid of a company contribution to their...

News: Opra admits overworked and underresourced staff.(Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority )
August 12, 2002... The pensions regulator has admitted its staff faced a "logistical challenge" after being snowed under with extra work last year. In a document to providers, leaked to Pensions Week last November, the Occupational Pensions Regulatory...

News: Education key to selling SRI.(socially responsible investments; Ethical Investment Research Service, Guide to Ethical Funds)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... Lack of transparency and clear information is discouraging investors from buying socially responsible investment (SRI) funds, despite strong growth in the asset class. According to a survey by the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS), 46%...

News: Regulator must act with light touch.(Buck Consultants Inc. report to Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority review)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... The pensions regulator should have the freedom and flexibility to operate more efficiently, an investment consultant said last week. In its submission to the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority's (Opra) quinquennial review, Buck...

News: Abbey quits stakeholder market.(Abbey National PLC)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... The ninth biggest stakeholder provider announced it was quitting the group provision business last week. Abbey National - which runs 2,500 stakeholder schemes - decided to leave the market because the provider did not want to waste...

News: Civil service's 'lucky four' unveiled.(providers of civil service stakeholder pensions, Partnership Pension Account)
August 12, 2002... The four winners of the civil service stakeholder pensions bonanza were revealed last week. Scottish Widows, Standard Life, AMP and Prudential have been selected to provide the money purchase arrangements as part of the modernisation of...

News: Ombudsman Watch.(ombudsman decision; London Borough of Barking, long service award case)
August 12, 2002... Council and Counsel The first ombudsman was a career civil servant. The second ombudsman was originally an academic lawyer. He was also a Queen's counsel - albeit of the honourary variety. Both were faced with important cases dealing with...

PW Trusty 30: Does the Pickering review go far enough?(Pensions Week survey, reactions to Alan Pickering report)
August 12, 2002... Small pension funds are most optimistic that the Pickering report will deliver lower pension costs and keenest to see the report implemented in full, according to the latest PW Trusty 30 survey. However, among larger schemes, there is deep...

Governance Watch: EU gets single-minded over governance.(European Union, corporate governance)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... The work by the European Union to produce a single capital market has been combined with a commitment to good corporate governance. The group of company law experts advising the European Commission are due to report back in September, but...

Opinion: Leader - Spectre of pensions emerges on risk radars.(UBS Warburg report, measurements of pension risk)
August 12, 2002... In a delicious twist of fate, pension funds and other institutional investors were warned last week to watch out for the pension risks associated with the stocks they invest in. After a recent stream of reports from investment consultants on...

Opinion: Custody View - Maintaining corporate confidence.(shareholder activism, method of ensuring corporate confidence)
August 12, 2002... Corporate governance and shareholder activism are two synonymous terms that have been used recently in conjunction with the likes of Enron, Hewlett Packard, Vodafone and ABB. What does it all mean to pension fund trustees and where does the...

Opinion: Letter from Europe - Beyond tracking error.(broader analysis of value at risk of portfolios)
August 12, 2002... Tracking error is often used to estimate the likely range of active returns relative to benchmark for equity portfolios and so provide a measure of the risk attached to that portfolio. Recently, however, a number of shortcomings have become...

Opinion: Letters - Vote of confidence.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2002... I read Graham Brown's letter Who is wagging whose tail? (PW 29.7.02). As a member of the NAPF benefits council and a director of the holding board, as well as being a pension fund manager responsible for many small clients, I though it...

Opinion: Letters - Reaching out to the younger generation.(encouraging younger workers to saving for retirement)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
August 12, 2002... I would like to commend Christine Farnish, chief executive of the National Association of Pension Funds, for her prudent comments about Alan Pickering's failure to recognise the need to encourage saving in retirement. Despite welcoming the...

People on the move: My first job - Val Burdett-Callen, head of local authority business, PSOLVE.(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 12, 2002... What was your first job? Architects' technical librarian for London Borough of Hackney. What made you stand out over other applicants? I had asked the then town clerk directly for a job and I had A-level art. Did it offer a...