Pensions Week articles from August 2006

Pensions Week archives from August 2006

News: NHS pensions boost no extra cost to taxpayer say employers.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Hannah Williams Doctors and nurses will receive greater benefits from their National Health Service (NHS) pension scheme without extra cost to the taxpayer, according to employers and trade unions. The proposed scheme...

News: Commercial property returns up by over 20%.
August 7, 2006... Commercial property in the UK has received its strongest returns since 1994, according to investment managers. A report by Henderson Global Investors found returns had risen to more than 20% in the last year, but a period of weak...

News: Blue chips close DB schemes.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Daniel McAllister Retail group Debenhams and insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson's (JLT) pension scheme members are the latest casualties of defined benefit (DB) closures as fears grow the provision will be extinct within the...

News: Property U-turn causes the UK to go global.
August 7, 2006... An about turn in property investment has seen the majority of UK pension funds look towards the global market, according to asset managers. The European Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV) reported...

News: Confidence in final salary schemes falls by half.
August 7, 2006... Confidence in final salary pension schemes in the retail and wholesale sector has fallen by over 50%, research found. One in four retail and wholesale businesses with 50 or more employees are less positive about their final salary schemes...

NIBS: News in Brief - Higham consolidates.
August 7, 2006... Consultancy firm Higham group is gearing up for growth by merging with its Dunnett Shaw company to become one united brand, Higham Dunnett Shaw (HDS). The businesses merged in February this year but until now have been trading under...

NIBS: News in Brief - Indian overvalued?
August 7, 2006... Indian equities have outstripped all global emerging markets for three years but are now at risk of being overvalued, the top performing Indian fund manager warned. Sam Mahtani, fund manager at F&C Asset Management, said despite continued...

News: Age laws to cost firms millions.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Gill Wadsworth UK companies face unexpected hikes in pension scheme deficits amounting to millions of pounds as anomalies in age equalisation laws are ironed out in the courts. According to actuarial firm, Barnet Waddingham,...

News: Capita Hartshead continues good run.
August 7, 2006... Competition in the third-party administration market is hotting up as Capita Hartshead continues its run of business wins. Since its appointment to provide compensation, administration and payment services to the Pension Protection Fund in...

News: Fund managers applaud interest rates hike.
August 7, 2006... The fund management profession has cheered the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision to boost interest rates. Jon Cunliffe, head of interest rate alpha at ABN Amro Asset Management, has come out in support of the...

News: Courses and seminars.
August 7, 2006... Pensions - Get me out of here? Back to the future, September 13-28, nationwide. Contact Louise Spooner on 020 7178 3218 www.mercer- hr.co.uk/pensionforums Pensions Knowledge - defined benefit, advanced module, September 12-13, London;...

News: Cash injections hit share prices.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Ryan Harrison Companies awarding more cash to pension schemes than to shareholders will see their share price suffer, a pensions law firm warned. Lane Clark & Peacock's (LCP) accounting for pensions survey, which looked at the...

News: Deficits remain the same as yield drop offsets 3% returns.
August 7, 2006... Pension deficits remained unchanged over July despite stock market returns in excess of 3%, research showed. According to analysis by Aon Consulting, the 1% fall in corporate bond yields and the drop in gilt yields from 4.6% to 4.4% has...

News: State benefits confusing and inadequate.
August 7, 2006... More than half of British adults believe the government will cut state benefits over the next five years, a study revealed. Research carried out by Lincoln Financial Group also found there was confusion about exactly what support people...

News: Pension funds gain ground over past month.
August 7, 2006... Pension funds experienced small but positive returns in July, following a disappointing second quarter, according to consultants. Rubicon Investment Consulting reported an average pension fund rise of 0.8% last month, with returns ranging...

News: Mercer picked for Centrica DB admin.
August 7, 2006... Energy supplier Centrica has appointed Mercer Human Resource Consulting to provide pension administration for the company's defined benefit arrangements. David Byrne, group pension manager at Centrica, said Mercer's depth of resource had...

News: Age law confusion could cause higher payments.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Ryan Harrison and Daniel McAllister Employers who fail to adjust their pensions rules in line with new age discrimination laws risk having higher flat rate payments forced on them, lawyers warned. The European directive on age...

News: Trustee - A puzzle in the sun.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Clive Gilchrist Diversification seems to be today's buzzword, but do we know where it is leading us? It used to seem so easy when we all had balanced funds. They held bonds, generally gilts and principally long-dated, to provide...

News: Apathy reigns as many ignore PPF levy.
August 7, 2006... More than half of UK companies have taken no action to reduce their Pension Protection Fund (PPF) risk-based levy, a survey revealed. The so-called `risk of failure' tax, imposed on employers by the PPF, was introduced in April this year...

News: Schemes stuck in short-termism.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Gill Wadsworth Pension funds are still leaving themselves open to the pitfalls of short- termism despite industry initiatives promoting the need for long-term investment strategies. A consultation undertaken by the Marathon...

News: ABN hedge fund aims at Japanese market opportunities.
August 7, 2006... ABN Amro Asset Management has launched a single strategy hedge fund, aiming to maximise absolute returns by exploiting Japanese market opportunities. The Japan equity long/short fund seeks to achieve double-digit annual returns with a...

News: Over-50s are the forerunners of saving for future.
August 7, 2006... People over 50 years old are leading the way when it comes to savings, stashing away 33% more than last year, research has shown. According to the Saving Britain campaign, a study carried out by Birmingham Midshires, on average the over-50s...

News: Trustees fail to invest responsibly.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Hannah Williams Trustees have come under fire for not actively engaging in socially responsible investments (SRI) and offloading responsibility to fund managers. Fair Pensions, the campaign for SRI, warned trustees were not...

News: Mortality rates deemed unpredictable.
August 7, 2006... Fresh statistics calculating the mortality rates of pensioners fail to give any idea of how quickly life expectancy will increase in the future, according to Hewitt Associates. The Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) published figures...

News: Dynamic green funds from King & Shaxson.
August 7, 2006... King & Shaxson Asset Management has launched a duo of ethical funds catered to both cautious and higher risk investors. Investing in a broad share of assets, the balanced income fund will target companies directly addressing social and...

News: NAPF Notice Board.
August 7, 2006... Facing the pension issues: NAPF autumn seminars Removing age discrimination from the workplace: what it means for pensions September 19, 2006 The Employment (Age) Regulations 2006 implement the European legislation designed...

News: Ombudsman Watch.
August 7, 2006... LOON WATCH This week's column comes from `Stormin Norm' at a great camp on the shores of Upper Lake Saranac in the Adirondacks (where I was trying to explain the difference between a judge and an ombudsman). Here, in the northern-most...

Campaign for Pensions Justice: Reporting the reality behind the headlines.
August 7, 2006... Ian Davie "I am approaching 52 years of age, and having paid into my company pension scheme for 17 years, I find I will now receive next to nothing when I retire in 13 years' time. The company took advantage of a pensions holiday from...

Profile: Bringing buyout to the UK retirement market.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Daniel McAllister Synesis Life chief executive Isabel Hudson seems to think the final pieces of the jigsaw are falling into place for the fledgling buyout business. The company has gained Financial Services Authority approval to...

Opinion: Leader - Where some companies fear to tread...
August 7, 2006... Byline: Gill Wadsworth Ever since I've been writing about pensions, closure of defined benefit (DB) schemes has been a key issue. For the last five or so years, the dominant story was the closure of DB funds to new accruals, while the...

Opinion: Personal View - Will the Pensions Regulator simply serve to highlight problems, or will it actually have an effect on them?
August 7, 2006... Byline: Peter Tompkins Although the scheme funding regime came in last September, the first valuations under the new rules are only now being completed. This is because actuarial funding valuations - and the discussions over drafts...

Opinion: Inside View - Seeing the wood for the trees with timberland funds.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Lloyd Raynor Over the past two decades, timberland has been one of the best performing asset classes for institutional investors, with average annual gains in the double digits. So far, most of the activity has been in the US,...

Governance Watch: Goldshield's corporate governance shows poor health.
August 7, 2006... Goldshield Group will be holding its annual general meeting (AGM) on August 9 2006, and as in our 2005 AGM report analysis, RREV continues to deem the level of corporate governance at Goldshield to be below that of market expectations. RREV is...

People on the Move: LPFA selects investment director for scheme overhaul.
August 7, 2006... Byline: Hannah Williams The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) has appointed Suzanne Ross as investment director for the scheme's GBP3.5bn worth of assets. Following an operational restructure of the LPFA two months ago, the role...

People on the Move: Watson Wyatt expands its business with Loveday.
August 7, 2006... Watson Wyatt has expanded its investment consulting business with the appointment of Damien Loveday as investment consultant in its global manager research team. Based in London, he will focus primarily on fixed income manager research,...

People on the Move: Pioneer hires Williams for key strategy role.
August 7, 2006... Pioneer Investments has appointed Griff Williams as institutional product strategist in a newly created London-based role. Through a partnership approach, Williams will work closely with the consultant community and Pioneer's business and...

People on the Move: Hutchinson made principal for Mercer health.
August 7, 2006... Mercer Human Resource Consulting has appointed Philip Hutchinson as a principal within its health & benefits business. Based in London, Hutchinson will be responsible for developing the company's marketing approach for the next era of benefits...

People on the Move: Coles appointed as right-hand man for F&C.
August 7, 2006... F&C Asset Management has appointed Terry Coles as associate director and alternate manager to Sophie Horsfall for its international funds. Coles, who joins with almost 10 years' fund management experience, will help manage a variety of F&C...

People on the Move: Victoros moves to ABN Amro as foreign exchange product specialist.
August 7, 2006... Michael Victoros has been appointed to ABN Amro Asset Management as foreign exchange global product specialist. He will be responsible for leveraging the company's currency offering to the global market. Victoros joins from Axa...

News: Trustee neglect could result in lawsuit action.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Ryan Harrison Pension scheme trustees could face court action and cost their members millions of pounds if they fail to enforce vital changes to additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) legislation. The Finance Act 2004, which...

News: Aberdeen follows takeover with profitable 12 months.
August 14, 2006... Aberdeen Asset Management successfully retained nearly all of Deutsche Asset Management's (DeAM) UK fixed income client list just a year after its major takeover of the German firm. DeAM sold its UK-based fixed income, institutional equity,...

News: Osborne-Barker leaves Deloitte.
August 14, 2006... Tony Osborne-Barker has defected from his position as director of consulting at Deloitte to join an investment bank. Osborne-Barker will join BNP Paribas later this year, as the French bank endeavours to raise its position in the UK...

News: Actuaries back scheme-specific calculations for transfer values.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Hannah Williams Transfer values should be calculated using a scheme-specific approach and not be identically prescribed by the government, according to actuaries. Responses to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)...

News: Whalley becomes chief executive at Mercer.
August 14, 2006... Mercer Human Resource Consulting has snapped up Alan Whalley from rival firm Watson Wyatt as chief executive of its UK business. Appointed as UK market leader, Whalley will focus on growing Mercer's revenue, reputation and market share,...

News: Neptune survives Q2 downturn.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Gill Wadsworth Neptune Investment Management has proved the top long-term performer in half the asset classes it competes in, despite shaky second quarter returns. The asset management firm, founded in 2002 by Robin Geffen,...

News: Coda merges pension plans at no cost.
August 14, 2006... A UK company overhauled its pension fund and increased employer contributions claiming the move cost the company nothing. Coda Group - a financial systems provider - has amalgamated numerous old pension schemes into one group personal...

News: Appointments - Suffolk Life Sipp win.
August 14, 2006... Suffolk Life boosted its position in the self-invested personal pension (Sipp) market with a third major contract win this year. The latest win is with Prudential, who decided to bring Suffolk Life on board to support its deferred Sipp...

News: Appointments - Pearl to outsource.
August 14, 2006... Life assurance and financial product provider Pearl has appointed First Actuarial to provide pension administration services to its 25,000 member pension scheme. The scheme, which was previously administered in-house, will operate from a...

News: Appointments - Profund provides admin for HBOS.
August 14, 2006... The HBOS Group has appointed Profund Solutions to provide pensions administration software for all of its staff arrangements. Running the Halifax retirement fund on Profund's oPen software programme, the company is now extending the...

News: Appointments - Mercer to manage for SNPP.
August 14, 2006... The Scottish & Newcastle Pension Plan has appointed Mercer Human Resource Consulting to provide pension management services. Mercer will provide actuarial and investment consulting, accounting, administration and secretarial services...

News: Letters.(Letter to the editor)
August 14, 2006... COVENANT REVIEWS ARE A NECCESSITY I have read with interest PW's (7.8.06) article regarding covenant reviews and while we agree a review is a growing requirement of trustees, it is worth considering the subject in a little more detail. ...

News: Women must address savings inequality.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Daniel McAllister Government reforms of the state pension system will still leave a striking gap between the genders, ministers warned. Pensions reform minister, James Purnell and minister for women, Meg Munn, said women should...

News: Managers still of value to schemes despite closures.
August 14, 2006... A growing number of pension schemes are recognising the value of pension managers, according to the Pensions Management Institute (PMI). Despite many final salary schemes shutting to new members, the pensions body reported a growing number...

News: 'Green' stocks gaining favour.
August 14, 2006... The popularity of ethical stocks is at a record high with fund managers, according to F&C Asset Management. The group claimed shares traditionally associated with specialised ethical investment are now increasingly seen as a good...

News: New Garnier hedge fund aimed at tracking European growth sectors.
August 14, 2006... Bryan Garnier Asset Management has launched an open-ended hedge fund aimed at tracking European companies in growth sectors. The European growth long/short fund, developed and managed by Adriaan Klop, chief investment officer at Bryan...

News: Left field - Going over the edge.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Frank Field The government has set itself on a collision course with the parliamentary ombudsman, the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) and last, but by no means least, the voters. At the centre of what is promising to...

News: Foreign exchange assets are ripe for exploration.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Hannah Williams A growing number of pension funds are looking to cash in on currency as investment managers argue the asset class has been long overlooked. A research paper produced by Bilal Hafeez, global head of foreign...

News: JLT and Northern Trust reap benefits from joint global management offering.
August 14, 2006... Jardine Lloyd Thompson Benefit Solutions (JLT) has teamed up with Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI) to deliver its manager-of-managers service. The partnership will see NTGI take responsibility for the selection and monitoring of...

News: NPSS costs will hit small firms.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Daniel McAllister Government bungling over pension reform will further the demise of pension provision in small firms where opt-out of a National Pension Savings Scheme (NPSS) could exceed 40%, according to the Association of...

News: Shariah products grow with two compliant indices.
August 14, 2006... Two Shariah-compliant indices have been launched to satisfy the growing interest for Islamic financial products. Following reports on the rising number of pension funds investing in companies that operate in line with the Islamic faith (PW...

News: Gissings tailors client benefits package.
August 14, 2006... Employee benefits consultancy Gissings has introduced what it says is a more flexible approach to flexible benefits for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Gissings said its client-managed flex approach will allow SMEs to customise a...

News: Funds still backing equity markets.
August 14, 2006... Fund managers remain confident in UK equities despite gloomy economic forecasts and recent market volatility. Mixed economic news, including rising employment, stronger retail sales and the 25 basis point hike in the base rate, has clouded...

Governance Watch: Serious corporate governance issues for Castings.
August 14, 2006... Castings will hold its annual general meeting (AGM) on August 15, 2006 and in its report on the company this year, RREV is again raising some significant corporate governance issues, one of which results in a recommendation to vote against the...

News: NAPF Notice Board.
August 14, 2006... Make an exhibition of yourself with NAPF NAPF hosts a number of events for the pensions industry in the country, including the UK's largest trade exhibition held in conjunction with the NAPF annual conference. Delegates hear from the...

News: Ombudsman Watch.
August 14, 2006... HEAVY BAGGAGE You can generally recognise me at an airport. I am the big bloke trying to look preoccupied as his somewhat more petite wife manhandles the heavy cases off the carousel onto the baggage trolley. That was me and my wife...

Campaign for Pensions Justice: Reporting the reality behind the headlines.
August 14, 2006... Kenneth Molloy - TWA Pension Action Group "Members of the Trans World Airline (TWA) UK Pension Plan always had confidence that their retirement savings were safe because the company always ensured the funding level was in excess of 100% of...

Profile: Taking the business in a positive direction.(Company overview)
August 14, 2006... Byline: Gill Wadsworth For most people, Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) is synonymous with insurance, but in the past few years the firm has rapidly boosted its presence in wider markets. A growing presence in the UK pensions market is...

Opinion: Leader - The best things can come in small packages.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Gill Wadsworth Being rather vertically challenged I have great empathy for the struggle of the little players in life, and smaller companies dealing with the pensions challenge are no exception. With FTSE 100 companies, large...

Opinion: Personal view - Looking after the interests of the company shareholder.
August 14, 2006... Byline: David Gait At first glance, corporate governance appears to be an intensively complex, daunting topic. Lengthy tomes on corporate governance best practices, usually written in impenetrable 'legal speak', have become de rigueur for...

Opinion: Inside View - London goes for gold in 2012 as the contractors cash in.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Christine Baalham When London hosts the Olympics in 2012 it will be the third time the city has played host to the games. However, what makes the 2012 Olympics unique for London is the amount of preparation time. In 1908,...

People on the Move: Schroders' Smith crosses the equity pond to Neptune.
August 14, 2006... Byline: Hannah Williams Burgeoning investment boutique Neptune Investment Management has snaffled Jeremy Smith for its UK equities team from Schroders. Having been on Schroders' UK equities desk for 14 years, Smith managed Schroders'...

People on the Move: Hodges explores Frontier in senior management role.
August 14, 2006... Frontier Capital Management has appointed Colin Hodges as chief operating officer. Hodges has 18 years' experience in financial markets within asset management and investment banking organisations. He will oversee the company's...

People on the Move: Investit boosts consultancy team with Sullivan.
August 14, 2006... Jonah Sullivan has been appointed as a consultant to the fund management firm Investit. She joins with 12 years' experience in investment management technology and operations, and will report to Catherine Doherty, principal at Investit....

People on the Move: Heaton's Japanese skills prove perfect for Pyrford.
August 14, 2006... UK-based equity manager Pyrford International has appointed Paul Heaton as portfolio manager and senior analyst for Japan. Heaton joined the team after five years at Royal London Asset Management, where he was in charge of Japanese life and...

People on the Move: Morse fills in multi-manager development gap at Fidelity.
August 14, 2006... Fidelity International has expanded its multi-manager team with the appointment of Phil Morse as business development director. Morse joins the group from Gartmore, where he was a multi-manager product specialist, having spent five years at...

News: ITV proposals at odds with CEO's GBP8.5m pot.
August 21, 2006... Byline: Hannah Williams ITV plans to reduce its staff pension benefits despite its chief executive bagging an GBP8.5m pension pot on his departure from the company next month. The broadcasting company is considering a number of changes...

News: Danish pension thief made to give back the bacon.
August 21, 2006... A Danish fraudster who lifted GBP2m from a fork-lift truck company pension scheme has been forced to return the sum to the victims. Bjorn Stiedl, 45, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment for fraud, on August 12, 2005, for...

News: Newton Investment suffers losses in placings plummet.
August 21, 2006... Byline: Ryan Harrison Newton Investment Management has suffered considerable losses across its oversees equities, global equities and balanced fund holdings for quarter two of 2006. According to the Caps pooled pension fund figures for...

News: Reform could undermine 5 million savers.
August 21, 2006... Models for delivering government pension reforms could undermine existing savers, research has shown. The study 'Pensions reform in the work place', which analysed the views of 750 employers, found the average employer pension...

News: Actuary queries PASC findings.
August 21, 2006... Byline: Daniel McAllister A senior Watson Wyatt actuary enraged pensions campaigners last week for suggesting the parliamentary ombudsman and Public Administration Select Committee's (PASC) findings of government pensions maladministration...

News: SRI outperforms for Environment Agency.
August 21, 2006... Responsible investing is paying off for the Environment Agency after its eight fund managers, appointed last year for their economic consideration policies, all outperformed their benchmarks. While reluctant to be overly confident about the...

News: Authorities play it safe and stick to bond portfolios.
August 21, 2006... Local authorities are still not convinced by liability-driven investment (LDI) when driving for returns in fixed income, a study revealed. Fidelity International's annual fixed income survey found local authorities continue to look for...

News: Aberdeen makes move to Asia.
August 21, 2006... Aberdeen Property Investors has moved into Asia with the launch of an Asian property fund-of-funds. Recruiting Kang Puay Ju to take on the Asian property brief, Aberdeen will invest in various real estate funds across Asia- Pacific...

News: New buyout firms at risk says Pru.
August 21, 2006... Byline: Ryan Harrison The new breed of small buyout firms entering the bulk annuities market could struggle to cope with a major market shift, incumbent life insurance company Prudential warned. In recent months companies such as...