Pensions Week articles from August 2004

Pensions Week archives from August 2004

News: ABN AMRO steps into pensions advice market.
August 2, 2004... The dominance of the major pension fund consultants in the UK market could be challenged with the arrival of ABN AMRO, the global investment bank. ABN AMRO is setting up a life and pensions advisory group, which aims to advise pension...

News: Government research on trustees outdated.
August 2, 2004... Evidence emerged last week to suggest the government's damning research into trustee efforts to become more effective and fall in line with the Myners recommendations was out of date. A GBP1.13bn pension fund is to revamp its governance...

News: Interest rate rise will harm economy.
August 2, 2004... The UK may be GBP1,000bn in debt but interest rates cannot go much higher without the economy suffering, according to one top performing bond manager. Stewart Cowley, who runs Newton's International Bond Fund, believes the base rate cannot...

News: BGI to use portable alpha strategy for Fujitsu mandate.
August 2, 2004... Fujitsu Services has appointed Barclays Global Investors (BGI) in a bid to boost its returns through manager skill, or alpha. The GBP1.3bn scheme has appointed the fund manager with an active global tactical asset allocation mandate. ...

News: Increased contribution rate would threaten manufacturers.
August 2, 2004... Six out of 10 manufacturers say that pension schemes will be unaffordable if employer pension scheme contributions increase by as little as 3% to 4%. This financial burden is so great, that four out of 10 say that this level of increase...

News: LGIM wins oe8.7bn in new business.
August 2, 2004... Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) won GBP8.7bn worth of new business in the first half of 2004, its interim results showed last week. This compares to GBP6bn in the same period last year. Total funds under management for its...

News: Myners prompts governance shake-up at Staffordshire.
August 2, 2004... A large UK pension fund has taken radical steps to improve its scheme governance in a bid to fall in line with Paul Myners' best practice principles. The move comes days after a government report bemoaned the rate of progress by schemes in...

News: Kas Bank appointed to global custody mandate by Norcros.
August 2, 2004... The GBP320m pension scheme of Norcros, an adhesives firm, has appointed Kas Bank to a global custody mandate. Previously, the scheme held several custody relationships with its fund managers, who are Henderson Global Investors, Liontrust,...

News: Survey shows crossing gains popularity.
August 2, 2004... Fund managers are expected to make greater use of equities crossing networks, such as E-Crossnet and Posit, one of the crossing providers claims. A survey of fund managers by E-Crossnet shows an expected 90% increase over the next two...

News: Watson Wyatt reduces deficit.
August 2, 2004... Watson Wyatt, the pension fund consultants, has reduced the deficit in its own group pension schemes by around GBP10m over the past year. Its latest report and accounts show that the deficit now stands at GBP4.8m compared to GBP14.34m in...

News: Debate on short-termism fails to encourage fund managers to adopt long- term mandates.
August 2, 2004... The majority of active fund management mandates out for tender centre on short-termism, despite the debate about long-term investment, said Carl McAndrew, head of business development at Bank of Ireland Asset Management. "We are...

News: Mercer launches tool to aid in life expectancy issues.
August 2, 2004... Mercer Human Resource Consulting has launched an interactive modeling tool designed to help companies and trustees understand how increasing life expectancy will affect their defined benefit pension scheme liabilities. The tool - Mercer...

News: New pension software launched by CCH.
August 2, 2004... CCH, a support provider to accounting professionals, has launched the latest update to its pension software, Pension. Pension, which automates the entire pension returns process, has been designed to provide a solution to the management of...

News: Aon to provide pension services to Brambles.
August 2, 2004... Brambles, the global support services group, has appointed Aon Consulting to provide pension services to all its UK pension arrangements. Aon will extend its relationship with Brambles to take over actuarial and consulting services of the...

News: Scrapping contracting-out would help with state pension review.
August 2, 2004... The ending of pension schemes contracting-out from the state pension will make it easier to review the wider state system, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) said last week. Individuals that contract-out of the state pension into a private...

News: Property returns looking good.
August 2, 2004... The strong performance of commercial property looks set to continue as more pension funds enter the market, it was claimed last week. Returns should remain stable and consistent, despite the spectre of rising interest rates and creeping...

News: Accenture survey finds many lack proper pensions provision.
August 2, 2004... Forty-six per cent of a sample group of 1,000 people have made no pension provision beyond the state pension, Accenture, the business services firm, found. A third of these people (33%), who were less than10 years from the national...

News: WH Smith to incur bank debt to pay off fund deficit.
August 2, 2004... Stationery retailer WH Smith has agreed to pay off its pension fund deficit over nine years, instead of 12 as originally agreed, if it sells Hodder Headline, its publishing business. In addition, the retailer has agreed to make a one-off...

News: UKSIF drafts shareholding guidelines.
August 2, 2004... Leading fund managers are to pilot a set of guidelines on active shareholding later this year working with the UK Social Investment Forum (UKSIF). UKSIF will launch a draft consultation on transparency guidelines on active shareholding...

News: Benchmark - Thinking aloud.
August 2, 2004... Anyone who has had the strength and the inclination to read my previous articles in this series will probably have realised that in them I have been thinking aloud. The articles have set out my thoughts on the major changes happening to pension...

News: FSA calls for fairer treatment.
August 2, 2004... The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said the retail savings industry must make more progress in treating customers fairly throughout the lifetime of their financial products. A report, Treating Customers Fairly - Progress and Next Steps,...

News: MPs blast financial services industry for low standards.
August 2, 2004... Over 50% of the long-term savings market became officially committed to higher standards last week - a week in which the industry received its most ferocious attack to date from MPs who accused firms of failing the public. While MPs on a...

News: Ombudsman watch.
August 2, 2004... Back to basics Regular readers of this column will have noticed my absence over the last few weeks and, like me, will have been grateful for the 'back--to-basics' approach adopted by my colleagues Jo Stern and James Dean writing in my...

News: Ombudsman's office has record year as over 1,000 cases done and dusted.
August 2, 2004... The pensions ombudsman's office managed to close more than 1,000 cases over the past year for the first time since the office was founded in 1991. The number of investigations closed by the ombudsman between April 2003 and March 2004...

News: Wesleyan awarded 10/10 rating on financial strength by Cazalet.
August 2, 2004... Wesleyan Assurance Society, a mutual assurance company that operates with- profit funds, has been awarded a 10/10 rating by Cazalet Consulting, which publishes an influential table of insurers based on their financial strength. The award...

News: Closer relationship between client managers and suppliers needed.
August 2, 2004... Closer management of third-party service providers is a key to success in outsourcing relationships, research by law firm Cameron McKenna found. One fund manager in the survey commented: "When our client manager was all over [the supplier]...

News: JLT to host defined benefit deficits solutions seminar.
August 2, 2004... Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), an employee benefits consultancy firm, will host a seminar focusing on potential solutions available for companies with defined benefit pension scheme deficits, as well as the major issues created by the pensions...

Governance watch: Stock lending could have corporate governance impact.
August 2, 2004... Pension funds may need to be aware of the potential corporate governance impacts of stock lending according to the International Corporate Governance Network's securities lending committee. It has conducted a survey of its members to judge...

Spotlight: The dawn of a new era in the Japanese equity market.
August 2, 2004... The Japanese equity market has clearly caught investors' attention. In the first quarter of 2004, Topix was the best performing major market, rising 13.6% in yen terms. Better than expected economic data fuelled investor enthusiasm. But an...

Opinion: Leader - Tackling a macro problem with a micro solution.
August 2, 2004... In the last few days two separate documents have advocated that, in certain circumstances, early access to pension savings should be allowed. Both calls came for influential voices: the Treasury select committee's report on long-term...

Opinion: Personal view - Using hedge funds in the pension fund race.
August 2, 2004... Pension funds are involved in what could be likened to the Le Mans endurance race, although the investment race is much longer and the stakes are far higher. Many fund participants, however, have found themselves lacking the pace to keep up....

Opinion: Inside view - Dealing with local authority pension scheme dilemmas.
August 2, 2004... Local authority pension schemes must balance a raft of dilemmas if they are to be successful. Fundamentally, these difficulties are not dissimilar to those faced by private sector schemes. They include fears over underfunding, increased...

People on the move: SSGM hires Goold, McGee to aid in European funds expansion.
August 2, 2004... State Street Corporation has expanded its outreach to European funds with the appointments of Toby Goold and Paul McGee to State Street Global Markets' asset owner group. State Street Global Markets (SSGM) is the investment research and...

People on the move: Kukuljan appointed as analyst at Jupiter.
August 2, 2004... Jupiter Asset Management has appointed Ingrid Kukuljan as an Eastern European equities analyst. Kukuljan joins from Pliva, one of Eastern Europe's largest pharmaceutical companies, where she was director of investor relations. At...

People on the move: Morley says, 'Hello Mato' to new analyst.
August 2, 2004... Morley Fund Management has boosted its global convertibles capability with the appointment of Shawn Mato as a research analyst in the team. Mato will report to David Clott, portfolio manager for convertible funds in Morley's associate...

People on the move: Rowlands heads business development team at Axa after leaving Winterthur Life.
August 2, 2004... Axa has appointed Mark Rowlands as corporate benefit solutions team business development and marketing director. Rowlands will be responsible for relationships with key employee benefit consultants as well as the firm's development of the...

News Just In... : Ombudsman backs IPTG trustee code.
August 2, 2004... A new code of practice aimed at independent trustees will be used by the pensions ombudsman David Laverick to determine whether complaints from members should be upheld. Laverick gave his backing last week to the code, which was launched...

News Just In... : Ashcroft heads International Organisation of Pensions Supervisors.
August 2, 2004... John Ashcroft, the strategic policy officer at the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority's (Opra) has been appointed as the first president of the International Organisation of Pensions Supervisors (IOPS). IOPS was established in...

News: Inability to meet claims triggers Ballast wind-up.
August 9, 2004... The Ballast Wiltshier and Needham schemes are to wind-up after contribution claims made by the independent trustee failed. The administrator for Ballast UK, Deloitte & Touche, said it was unable to meet the contribution claims, which has...

News: Rising costs of Cheney fund leads to PCB levy increase.
August 9, 2004... The Pensions Compensation Board (PCB) had increased its levy, payable by occupational schemes, for the first time since 1997 because of rising costs related to the Cheney fund. The PCB has been making compensation payments to Cheney...

News: JLT software deal causes uproar.
August 9, 2004... Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) has acquired the main assets and business portfolio of Profund Systems, the market leader in admin software. JLT said that the purchase means Profund will now trade as Profund Solutions. However, one observer...

News: USS, Open University scheme merger opens doors for non-academic staff.
August 9, 2004... One of UK's biggest pension funds, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), has merged with the Open University scheme creating a total membership of more than 200,000. Up to 3,400 of the Open University's scheme, which is for support...

News: Isis reveals its voting record on corporate governance.
August 9, 2004... Companies are facing shareholder revolt from their institutional investors for failing to adhere to good corporate governance on incentive schemes and anti-takeover measures, a report has revealed. The Isis Responsible Engagement Overlay...

News: Institutional mandates net oe6.35bn in new business for Axa.
August 9, 2004... Axa Investment Managers saw net inflows of new business worth GBP6.35bn in the six months to June thanks to several large institutional appointments. The asset manager reported that its institutional mandates accounted for GBP2.84bn of the...

News: Barclays Global records oe66m pre-tax profit boost.
August 9, 2004... Barclays Global Investors recorded pre-tax profits of GBP157m for the half year to end of June 2004. This is an increase of 73% on the corresponding results last year of GBP91m - a GBP66m jump in profits. The 2004 interim results for the...

News: oe1.1bn Norfolk drops Capita Hartshead for its administration.
August 9, 2004... Capita Hartshead has lost out on GBP1.1bn worth of business after a major local authority scheme terminated its contract and bought its administration back in-house. The GBP1.1bn Norfolk County Council pension fund ended its relationship...

News: AllianceBernstein to manage Lambeth's global equity brief.
August 9, 2004... The GBP500m London Borough of Lambeth pension fund has appointed AllianceBernstein Institutional Investment Management to manage a global equity mandate. Lambeth will transfer 20%, approximately GBP98m, out of a balanced fund portfolio...

News: MM loses ground to industry rivals.
August 9, 2004... Multi-manager MM, formerly Attica Asset Management, has lost more ground to major rivals this year as both Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI) and SEI Investments pass the GBP1bn mark for UK institutional assets under management. SEI...

News: Bluebay to establish new funds group.
August 9, 2004... BlueBay Asset Management, the London-based specialist fixed income manager, is establishing a structured products and fund derivatives group. The fund manager said the development of the new area is a significant move for Bluebay, which...

News: Hermes to provide new range of funds for Axa.
August 9, 2004... Hermes Pensions Management has snapped up a lucrative mandate with Axa to provide a new range of passively managed funds. Axa has added seven passive options to its pensions offering which will invest in Hermes's existing funds including UK...

News: Simplification will free up surpluses for retired execs.
August 9, 2004... Pensions simplification will enable thousands of retired executives and business owners to access pension surpluses that have been withheld from them under current Inland Revenue (IR) maximum pension limits. The problem initially arose when...

News: Friends Provident half year profits rise by 25%.
August 9, 2004... Friends Provident saw a 25% rise in operating profits in the year ending 30 June 2004. The interim results for the half year to end of June 2004, show that the operating profit hit GBP169m compared with GBP135m for 2003. The company's...

News: Cautious welcome for ABN Amro into advice market.
August 9, 2004... Consultants welcomed ABN Amro's move into the life and pensions advisory market although expressed concerns that there may be conflicts of interest. ABN Amro is setting up a life and pensions advisory group, which aims to advise pension...

News: Big banks form online research platform.
August 9, 2004... A group of investment banks have teamed up to form a platform to provide online research and trading ideas for institutional clients. The consortium includes some of the biggest names in investment banking such as Citigroup, Goldman Sachs,...

News: oe120m boost for WH Smith scheme.
August 9, 2004... Stationery retailer WH Smith has sold its publishing business Hodder Headline enabling it to put GBP120m into the pension fund. The business was sold for a total of GBP223m to French media group Hachette Livre. The group will pay GBP210m...

News: Ombudsman requests further evidence for PAG's maladministration claims.
August 9, 2004... The parliamentary ombudsman has agreed to examine further evidence of claims made by the Pensions Action Group (PAG) against the government for maladministration after they lost all their retirement benefits when their companies became...

News: F&C, Isis to restructure.
August 9, 2004... F&C Management and Isis Asset Management are to drastically restructure their UK and European equity desks following their merger last month. The firm, which is now the fourth largest asset manager in the UK, will create a pan-European...

News: Environment Agency calls for imaginative offers for tenders.
August 9, 2004... The Environment Agency has put out to tender several mandates totalling over GBP500m. The scheme is looking to appoint for passive or enhanced index mandates consisting of GBP100m UK equities, GBP160m global equities and a GBP135m index-...

News: Four face disciplinary procedure over Equitable Life fiasco.
August 9, 2004... Disciplinary procedures have begun against the four senior executives and actuaries at the centre of the Equitable Life debacle. These proceedings come under the jurisdiction of the Institute of Actuaries and, if found guilty, the four face...

News: Cofunds, L&G to offer personal pension product.
August 9, 2004... Fund supermarket Cofunds has formed a strategic alliance with Legal & General (L&G) that will enable it to offer a personal pension product. At present, Cofunds only deals with independent financial advisers (IFAs) and it offers 750 funds...

News: GE Life goes online on Assureweb site.
August 9, 2004... Insurer GE Life is to feature on Assureweb's comparative quote service for annuities. The link-up means that independent financial advisers using Assureweb will be able to compare indicative rates for smokers and those with medical...

News: Credit Agricole on the look out for new fund manager.
August 9, 2004... Credit Agricole Asset Management is looking to acquire a fund manager to strengthen its position in the UK institutional market. A spokesman for Credit Agricole said: "Bolstering our position in the UK market is a priority at the moment. We...

News: Left Field - Mowing the grass.
August 9, 2004... Setting up Adair Turner's pensions commission looked like a smart move to deflect one of the government's biggest failures - pensions - into the long grass. That long grass is about to be mowed. Adair Turner will make his first report on the...

News: Meeting held to prevent wind-up of T&N scheme.
August 9, 2004... Unions working with former Turner & Newall (T&N) workers are to meet with the major US bond holder, Carl Icahn and the person representing US asbestos claimants, Joe Rice, and the independent pensions trustee this week to try and reach an...

News: Landmark ruling on bonuses.
August 9, 2004... Bonus payments in money purchase funds established before the Pensions Act 1995 may cause problems regarding the status of the schemes, lawyers have warned. The warning follows the landmark ruling of the KPMG pension scheme where the High...

News: Ombudsman watch.
August 9, 2004... Maxwell's shadow I have been working from home most of this week, so I find myself, on a balmy blue skied summer evening, laying on my back in the garden (I kid you not) about to dip into the brilliant blue 2004 annual report of the...

News: Pension deficits decreased but companies still under pressure.
August 9, 2004... Some of the UK's top companies have cut their pension deficits by millions of pounds after achieving average returns of over 20% compared to 10% returned by the FTSE 100, a survey found last week. The 11th annual pension survey by actuarial...

News: IAS 19 to alter the face of European pensions landscape.
August 9, 2004... The adoption of the international accounting standard IAS 19 will lead to significant changes in the European pensions landscape, consultant Watson Wyatt said last week. Eric Steedman, a partner at Watson Wyatt, said although IAS 19 will...

News: Survey reveals that pension funds lack formal governance objectives.
August 9, 2004... A large number of pension schemes lack formal governance despite calls for improved transparency, according to a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting (MHRC). A poll by MHRC revealed that only one in ten schemes had written governance...

News: Fund managers urged to use sub-investment grade bonds.
August 9, 2004... Investors could be missing out on extra returns by preventing their fund managers from investing in sub-investment grade bonds, a risk manager has warned. According to Barra, pension funds traditionally only invest in investment- grade...

News: B&CE welcomes Treasury report.
August 9, 2004... The Treasury select committee's latest report - Restoring Confidence in Long- term Savings - makes nervous reading according to financial services and employee benefits firm B&CE. The firm said the report marks the beginning of a serious...

Governance Watch: Shareholder vote plays big role in remuneration reports.
August 9, 2004... With executive pay always a topical issue, the shareholder vote to approve the report of the remuneration committee has obviously proved to be eagerly observed within the press. No FTSE 100 companies have suffered the fate of GlaxoSmithKline,...

Spotlight: Demanding tax exemption for foreign pension schemes.
August 9, 2004... The European Commission (EC) has issued a formal request to the UK asking it to change its taxation laws so that local pension schemes are not favoured. Pension contributions are exempt only for workers employed under UK pension systems but not...

Opinion: Leader - Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's an FSA guarantee.
August 9, 2004... When is a guarantee not a guarantee? According to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), when it is used to describe final salary pension benefits in a FSA consumer guide to help people make 'safe pension choices'. In July 1999, the FSA...

Opinion: Policy view - Later retirement is being seen as inevitable by many.
August 9, 2004... Two recent pension policy proposals - from the Confederation of British Industry and British Chambers of Commerce - suggest that state pension age should rise sometime in the next 20 years. In both cases, the point is to increase the basic...

Opinion: Inside view - Choosing the right transition manager.
August 9, 2004... Turmoil in the equity markets has led to radical shifts in asset allocation, with many UK pension funds poised for a move from equities to bonds. Moves from balanced to specialist managers, and the growing popularity of funds-of- funds are also...

People on the Move: Lehman Brothers adds to its transition management division.
August 9, 2004... Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank, has strengthened its transition management division with the appointment of Paul Marchington as managing director, European head of transition management, based in London. Prior to joining...

People on the Move: Redpath takes the Northern Circuit route.
August 9, 2004... Pension and employee benefits barrister Scott Redpath has joined Exchange Chambers in the North West - making him the first pensions law specialist on the Northern circuit in the UK. Redpath qualified as a barrister in 1996. He joined the...

People on the Move: Cohen joins State Street.
August 9, 2004... State Street Corporation has appointed Charles Cohen to its pension fund sales team in the UK. Cohen joins State Street from Thomas Murray, where he served for over three years as a senior consultant within the pension fund and investment...

People on the Move: Belshaw appointed by MLIM.
August 9, 2004... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) has appointed Andrew Belshaw as sterling bond manager and director on the MLIM sterling bonds team. Belshaw joins MLIM from Prudential and will be reporting to Chris Fellingham, MLIM's head of fixed...

People on the Move: Barrie, Bjorheim welcomed to the BAM family.
August 9, 2004... Baring Asset Management (BAM) has appointed Louise Barrie as an associate director focusing on the UK institutional market. Barrie joined BAM this week and will be based in London. She will report directly to Richard Graham, BAM's head of...

News Just In... : NHS scheme to have major overhaul.
August 9, 2004... The NHS pension scheme is looking to make radical structural changes to cater for its 21st century workforce. The scheme has embarked on a review of the entire scheme, which could result in major changes. The review is being conducted...

News Just In... : Warwickshire Council appoints four new external fund managers.
August 9, 2004... The GBP600m Warwickshire County Council pension fund has appointed four external fund managers following a move from balanced to specialist mandates. Barclays Global Investors has been appointed to manage GBP145m multi-asset passive brief,...

News: Generous DC scheme fills final salary gap.
August 16, 2004... Thomas Miller & Co, the insurance company parent of the Occupational Pensions Defence Union (Opdu), has replaced its final salary scheme with a generous defined contribution (DC) scheme paying a 15% employer contribution. The company...