Pensions Week articles from January 2007

Pensions Week archives from January 2007

News: Minister admits guilt over maladministration.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Daniel McAllister The government's party line on pension compensation has buckled under mounting public pressure and a looming High Court case as Harriet Harman became the first cabinet minister to break ranks and accept the...

News: Treasury argues against the issuing of mortality bonds.
January 15, 2007... The government is resisting pressure from consultants to issue mortality bonds as a solution to the longevity crisis, arguing state reforms have not gone far enough to justify taking on additional risk. Consultants had speculated mortality...

News: WHSmith defends LDI strategy as final salary scheme closes.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Ryan Harrison The WHSmith pension scheme has denied its liability-driven investment (LDI) strategy has failed after it was forced to kick nearly 2,000 workers out of its final salary scheme. The GBP608m fund, which currently...

News: BA pensions dispute nears its conclusion.
January 15, 2007... The ongoing dispute over the British Airways (BA) pension scheme could soon be at an end as unions and management approach an agreement. However, Gary Pearce, organiser for the GMB, warned against viewing the matter as settled, as the...

News: LGPS regs hit manual workers.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Daniel McAllister Dinner ladies and dustmen will be among the council workers hit hardest by changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) that will see a 2.5% hike in their pension contributions. Local government...

News: T&G will continue Macquarie battle despite court ruling.
January 15, 2007... Unions vowed to fight on over pension changes to the East London Bus Group (ELBG) scheme after strike action was halted by court intervention. Four thousand drivers were expected to walk out last Monday in protest at increases to their...

News: Strathclyde allows managers free rein.
January 15, 2007... The GBP9bn Strathclyde pension fund has made good its promise to depart from benchmark-driven investments with four unconstrained fund manager appointments. Following a review of investment strategy by Hymans Robertson in early 2006,...

News: Mellon secures GBP350m mandate.
January 15, 2007... Mellon Global Investments has won a GBP350m currency overlay mandate from Witan Investment Trust to run the group's foreign currency exposure. Managed by subsidiary firm Mellon Capital Management Corporation, the mandate will seek...

News: WestAM hires McEntegart.
January 15, 2007... Hymans Robertson has lost a key member of its manager research team to burgeoning multi-manager outfit West Asset Management (WestAM). Vincent McEntegart, co-head of manager research at Hymans, joins Alan Bartlett, chief investment officer,...

News: PwC bags Watson.
January 15, 2007... PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has continued its drive into the UK pensions consultancy market by poaching a director from HSBC Actuaries & Consultants. Paul Watson has left his post as investment consultancy director with HSBC to build up...

News: DWP slammed over Royal Mail.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Ryan Harrison The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was irresponsible and short- sighted for dropping a GBP12m Royal Mail contract hampering efforts to tackle the firm's gaping GBP5.6bn pension deficit, a Liberal Democrat MP...

News: Thomsonfly looks to Claybrook's software for efficiency.
January 15, 2007... Low-cost airline Thomsonfly is to streamline its pension scheme administration using Claybrook's Compendia software. Previously administered separately, the defined benefit and defined contribution pension provision will now be handled on...

News: JLT to provide full services for Cosalt's scheme.
January 15, 2007... Industrial product and leisure firm Cosalt has appointed Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) to provide full services for its pension scheme. Cosalt's defined benefit fund has been closed and replaced by a defined contribution scheme with...

News: Standard Life aims two new global property funds towards Europe.
January 15, 2007... Standard Life Investments has launched two global property funds aimed at institutional and retail investors in the UK and Europe. Investing largely in real estate investment trusts (REITs) or securities, the funds aim to maximise total...

News: Annual reports require a rethink.
January 15, 2007... Companies must rethink how they report pensions obligations in annual reports to give investors a clear picture of the strength of the employer covenant, a consultant urged. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said companies should avoid...

News: Civil service plans penalise higher earners.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Ryan Harrison The government's new-look civil service pension scheme has received industry support but consultants warned it could disadvantage career high-flyers looking for greater salaries. The proposed career average...

News: Neptune fund will invest in the planet.
January 15, 2007... Neptune Investment Management has launched a green planet fund exploiting the commercial value of eco-friendly services and technologies. Looking to generate medium-term capital growth, the fund invests predominantly in companies whose...

News: SHP scheme overhaul retains DB options.
January 15, 2007... A major review of the Social Housing Pension Scheme (SHPS) has left over 99% of employers providing defined benefit (DB) pensions to their members. The multi-employer SHPS has undergone a two-year review of its benefits structure,...

News: Investment partnership will encourage ethical debate.
January 15, 2007... The Enhanced Analytics Initiative (EAI) and the UN-backed Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) have joined forces to spread the word on the benefits of ethical investing. The international collaboration is aimed at achieving better...

News: Benchmark - Held accountable.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Lindsay Tomlinson The next few months could prove interesting and important to all those who have a stake in the outcome of the accounting standards debate, ie to all of us. Despite the dry nature of the topic "for those that...

News: ITN avoids strike action by bending to union pressure.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Hannah Williams The Independent Television Network (ITN) has bowed down to union pressure and amended its proposed pension scheme changes in a bid to avert strike action. The media group which provides news broadcasts to both...

News: Strategies off-course warn consultants.
January 15, 2007... The investment strategies and governance arrangements of most UK pension funds are misaligned according to consultants. A study by Watson Wyatt found less than half of UK schemes had governance strategies that complimented their investment...

News: Baltics pip UK in EU pension poll.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Hannah Williams Pension benefits in the UK have been ranked worse than Estonia and Latvia with consultants predicting the state of UK provision will slip even further behind its EU counterparts. The pensions barometer, put...

News: Online tool offers scheme trustees fund comparisons.
January 15, 2007... Trustees can weigh up their actuarial assumptions and funding levels with other pension schemes thanks to an online comparison tool. Developed by Compact Analysis, the instruments will allow participating schemes to settle their valuations,...

Governance Watch: RREV queries governance adherence at Lonmin.
January 15, 2007... Lonmin will be holding its annual general meeting (AGM) on January 25, 2006 and RREV engaged with the company over various aspects of its remuneration policy and is recommending votes against the remuneration report and the amendment to the...

Campaign for Pensions Justice: Reporting the reality behind the headlines.
January 15, 2007... APW Pension Scheme member "I received a letter from the trustees of the APW Electronics Pension Scheme informing me they had accepted a compromise agreement with the company to accept a sum of money in return for cancelling the company's...

News: NAPF Notice Board - Topical forthcoming seminars from the NAPF.
January 15, 2007... Key topics to be addressed at the NAPF White Paper Seminar Tuesday 16 January Now that the government has published its personal accounts white paper and made its choice of delivery model, the real work begins. The forthcoming...

News: Ombudsman Watch.
January 15, 2007... Happy New Year At the start of the year, columnists, struggling to get back into the swing of things after the Christmas break, usually do one of two things. They deliver their predictions about what is really going to matter over the next...

Spotlight: Control + balance = success.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Max Williams and Amarendra Swarup Today's increasingly complex asset markets make it more difficult than ever for investors to understand, select and monitor hedge fund investments. However, there are compelling and well analysed...

Opinion: Leader - The problems with living a long life.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Gill Wadsworth I should really start by wishing you a Happy New Year but it feels a long time ago and given the start to 2007 that certain defined benefit pension scheme members are facing, perhaps it's not that happy anyway. ...

Opinion: Personal View - Why the opportunities will always be knocking.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mark Miller The attractiveness of the sterling corporate bond market in recent years seems to have faded and risks for investors seem to be growing as opportunities to add value appear fewer and farther between. At the same...

Opinion: Inside View - Keeping a private eye on specialised equity investment.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Hamish Mair As an asset class, private equity has produced impressive returns, particularly over the past couple of years, and pension funds are gradually becoming more interested in what it has to offer. Private equity is...

People on the Move: Paternoster completes team of experts with Still.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Hannah Williams Budding buyout firm Paternoster has completed its management line-up with the appointment of ex-Prudential director David Still. Still, who was formerly business development director with Prudential and...

People on the Move: Aitken hired to direct marketing for SBJ's benefit.
January 15, 2007... SBJ Benefit Consultants has appointed Jim Aitken as marketing director. Previously with AWD Chase de Vere Employee Benefits, Aitken has worked extensively in the pensions and employee benefits market for a variety of insurance companies...

People on the Move: King to rebuild Legal & General euro equity team.
January 15, 2007... Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has appointed the founder of European equity hedge fund KDR Europe to head up its active European equities. Ian King joins the team at the end of January and is charged with rebuilding the...

People on the Move: Experienced Coles made a principal at Mercer Consulting.
January 15, 2007... Isabel Coles has been appointed as a principal to Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Based in London, Coles will join Mercer's international retirement business to provide pensions and benefits advice to multi-national companies. She...

People on the Move: ABN adds Ballard to boost fixed income business.
January 15, 2007... ABN Amro Asset Management has bolstered its fixed income business with the appointment of Simon Ballard. Based in London, Ballard will become a credit strategist for the firm's European fixed income team. He joins from Arc Securities...

People on the Move: Meawad enhances Newton's capability.
January 15, 2007... Newton Investment Management has boosted its derivatives capability with the appointment of Joseph Meawad. He will become a derivatives analyst and will report to Jeff Munroe, chief investment officer at Newton. Meawad will develop...

People on the Move: Dawson to lead European product development for Pimco.
January 15, 2007... Pimco has appointed Craig Dawson as head of European product management. Previously responsible for the company's global credit products, Dawson will continue to deal with investment-grade corporates, high yield, convertibles and bank...

News: Johnson takes up six month post at the Pensions Regulator.
January 15, 2007... Ben Johnson of advisory firm KPMG is the latest addition to the Pensions Regulator's secondment programme, joining the scheme-specific funding team for six months. Johnson, who's provides actuarial advice to corporate, transaction and...

News: Hitchen takes up the reins at NAPF.
January 22, 2007... Chris Hitchen is to replace Robin Ellison as chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF). Former chairman of the NAPF's investment council, Hitchen is also chief executive of the Railways Pension Trustee Company,...

News: Regulator catches trustee in the act of swindling.
January 22, 2007... The Pensions Regulator's whistle-blower tactics have caught a scheme trustee swindling pension benefits. David John Foster, chairman of the trustees of the Ericsson Employee Benefits Scheme, has been banned from acting as a trustee for...

News: Industry rates savings advice budget as 'ridiculously low'.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Hannah Williams Money set aside for educating savers enrolled in the government's personal accounts system has been deemed inadequate as behavioural finance research shows blanket education is ineffective. The government has...

News: Means-testing is key issue for Lib Dems as government pushes personal accounts bill.
January 22, 2007... Failure to reduce the spread of means-testing will cost the government cross- party support for its private pension reform, warned the Liberal Democrats, as the second reading of the state pension bill went through parliament last week. ...

News: Royal Mail's deficit cloud darkens.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Ryan Harrison Opposition parties have rounded on the government over Royal Mail's deepening financial crisis, as an exodus of big corporate clients heaped pressure on the firm to tackle its GBP5.6bn pensions deficit. BT...

News: Transfer values to be scheme-specific.
January 22, 2007... Pension transfer values will be calculated on a scheme-specific basis as government ruling responds to industry pressure. After a lengthy consultation period the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced the calculation of an...

News: Abbey hires BNY to handle liquidity fund.
January 22, 2007... Abbey has appointed the Bank of New York to act as administrator, transfer agent, trustee and global custodian for the group's first liquidity fund. The GBP4bn fund aims to provide investors with the opportunity to maximise the yield...

News: News in Brief - JPMORGAN WINs GBP20m.
January 22, 2007... Bedfordshire County Council has appointed JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) to run a GBP20m currency mandate. The assets will be invested in the JPMAM managed currency plus fund as part of a diversifying drive by the local authority to...

News: News in Brief - Skipton appoints JLT.
January 22, 2007... Skipton Building Society has appointed Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) to provide actuarial and investment consulting to its four defined benefit schemes. A number of the schemes have a career average structure with total fund assets standing...

News: News in Brief - ABNAM WIN the largest.
January 22, 2007... ABN Amro Mellon has secured the contract to run the entire back office for one of the UK's largest pension funds in a deal worth GBP5bn. The University Superannuation Scheme (USS) implemented a review of its custody arrangements two years...

News: Firms pinched by PPF levy hike.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Ryan Harrison A rash of small manufacturers are the latest casualties of a four-fold hike in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) risked-based levy, threatening to push many into insolvency, consultants warned. Small and...

News: Capita Hartshead begins 'invaluable' pension scheme admin survey.
January 22, 2007... Capita Hartshead has launched a pension scheme administration survey to analyse costs and trends in the sector. Exploring topical pensions issues and their impacts on scheme administration, the 2007 survey will look at scheme responses to...

News: SSASs save property tax.
January 22, 2007... Companies looking to buy commercial property can save six-figure tax bills by buying through small self-administered schemes (SSASs). Smaller firms that are eligible to set up a SASS can harness the tax- efficient qualities of pension...

News: Letters.(Letter to the editor)
January 22, 2007... A different kind of wind up In response to the article by Kevin O'Donell in Pensions Week (4.12.06), if he was trying to wind people up, he certainly succeeded with me. To suggest that, unlike public sector workers, the private sector...

News: Government to rethink NPSS caps.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Daniel McAllister The government has bowed to industry demands and said it would rethink its decision to bump up individuals' contribution caps on personal accounts to GBP5,000. Minister for pension reform, James Purnell, said...

News: James Hodge is appointed as chairman of SPC.
January 22, 2007... The Society of Pension Consultants (SPC) has appointed former British diplomat James Hodge as its chairman. Hodge spent 37 years at the Foreign Office where he concentrated on trade and economic issues, with much of his time spent overseas...

News: Haringey looks for manager to handle GBP200m mandate.
January 22, 2007... The London Borough of Haringey pension fund has put out to tender for a GBP200m currency overlay mandate. The council scheme said the mandate may also include a passive hedge element. Haringey said it will look at resources and people,...

News: British Airways "gone too far" says T&G.
January 22, 2007... Dispute over the troubled New Airways Pension Scheme rumbled on as British Airways (BA) and unions were locked in talks to try and avert strike action. Revised pension proposals put forward by the airline, which included a normal...

News: Left Field - Dangerous decisions.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Frank Field The House of Commons has now carried out its main overall debate on the government's pensions bill, known as the second reading. Once this debate has taken place, the bill goes into what is supposed to be a detailed...

News: M&A to swallow up poor administration providers.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Hannah Williams Poor standards in the third-party administration market could lead to a wave of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, providers warned. Malcolm Reynolds, commercial director at Jardine Lloyd Thompson, said...

News: Russell launches global set of indices.
January 22, 2007... Russell Investment Group has developed a family of global indices that it says will meet the changing needs of institutional investors. The firm, which also offers multi-manager and investment consulting services, said money managers are...

News: Axa IM looks to SRI to add value.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Matthew Craig Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) said it is convinced responsible investing can improve investment performance, although it cannot demonstrate this. The fund manager said responsible investing, or considering the...

News: Thornton to review pension framework on behalf of govt.
January 22, 2007... Paul Thornton, a former senior partner at Watson Wyatt and past president of the Institute of Actuaries, has been appointed to review the regulatory framework for occupational pension schemes. Minister for pension reform, James Purnell, has...

News: Aquila admin system covers all schemes.
January 22, 2007... Pension administration software provider Aquila has released its latest admin system as the industry remains divided over the future of third-party provision. Aquila said its system, Administrator 5, covers core admin, investment and...

News: DC members lose out to inflation rise.
January 22, 2007... Defined contribution (DC) scheme members with non-inflation-linked pensions can expect their retirement income halved after inflation levels hit a 10- year high, a consultant warned. And figures showed the over-75s are still the age group...

News: Barings reticent to back global bonds for 2007.
January 22, 2007... Baring Asset Management has remained cautious on the returns pension schemes can expect from global bond markets in 2007. Angelina Chueh, manager of Barings' fixed income targeted return portfolios, said schemes should consider the...

Governance Watch: Taking roles and responsibilities to another Dimension.
January 22, 2007... Dimension Data Holdings will be holding its annual general meeting on January 31, 2007. The company has a significant presence in South Africa and is listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange in addition to its primary listing on the...

News: Notice Board.
January 22, 2007... NAPF Spring Trustee Conference One Great George Street, Westminster Raising standards and balancing interests will be the theme at the NAPF's spring trustee conference this year, which offers pension scheme trustees a timely...

News: Ombudsman Watch.
January 22, 2007... FILLING THE CARE GAP Last week I wrote about the 'care gap' - the gap between what older people need, in the way of care, and what care and support is available. The BLP charity team of excellent trainees and young associates did their bit...

Campaign for Pensions Justice: Reporting the reality behind the headlines.
January 22, 2007... Bobby Henderson - Dexion scheme member "I am 59 years old and I worked at Dexion from 1968 to 2003. I spent six years in Glasgow from 1968 to 1974, and moved to Bristol in1974 to oversee installations projects. Dexion went in to...

Spotlight: A sea of choices.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Simon Pearse As the size of the defined contribution (DC) market continues to increase in the UK, members of money purchase schemes are seeing their personal accounts mature and become a considerable element of their savings...

Opinion: Leader - Day 2,168: the wind-up victims are still waiting...
January 22, 2007... Byline: Gill Wadsworth With the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling over lost pensions expected on Thursday this week I was thrilled to hear of Gordon Brown telling reporters he wanted "Britain to be seen as a country of fairness"; at...

Opinion: Personal view - Honesty is the best policy for company pension schemes.
January 22, 2007... It is nearly 20 years since UK companies first had to make formal disclosures in their accounts about their defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. It all started when the UK Accounting Standards Board created Statement of Standard Accounting...

Opinion: Inside View - The risk is in not communicating across organisations.
January 22, 2007... Many pension fund managers would agree that risk management is a more important issue today than it was 10 years ago. Traditionally, plan managers had a choice of equities, fixed income and real estate vehicles in which to invest the pension...

People on the Move: Morley poaches industry top gun for CEO position.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Ryan Harrison Morley Fund Management has drafted in industry veteran Chris Phillips to become its chief executive officer (CEO) following an extensive search process. Phillips, who is CEO at Scottish Widows Investment...

People on the Move: State Street add analysts to aid progress.
January 22, 2007... State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) has swiped a duo of high-yield analysts from Boldwater Capital Management to strengthen its global fixed income group. Thomas Stolberg and Charles Haley have been hired to develop the management of...

People on the Move: Reed steps into support role at Threadneedle.
January 22, 2007... Threadneedle Investments has appointed Philip Reed as general counsel, in a newly created role dedicated to compliance. Reed joins the team from Norton Rose where he was a partner and solicitor advocate specialising in banking, financial...

People on the Move: Investec boosts research team.
January 22, 2007... Investec Asset Management has strengthened its stock-picking research team with the appointment of two sector analysts. Based in London, Jonathan Parker joins the firm's research team as a sector analyst for UK equities and Sue Xu joins...

People on the Move: AIMA expands its global support.
January 22, 2007... The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) has announced a brace of appointments to its Hong Kong and London offices. Tim Kay joins as a director of AIMA's Hong Kong branch having held senior positions with Baring Asset...

News: FAS falls thousands short of payout target.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Daniel McAllister The Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) is short-changing collapsed scheme members by up to 45% as MPs reached a majority in favour of full compensation ahead of a judicial review and European Court of Justice (ECJ)...

News: Employers admit DC provision is insufficient.
January 29, 2007... Defined contribution (DC) pension provision has been branded inadequate by employers. In a survey by Fidelity International, 50% of senior financial executives admitted their company's DC scheme would not allow employees to retire in...

News: WHSmith's contentious closure.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Ryan Harrison WHSmith's decision to close its final salary scheme has landed it in hot water after a slump in Christmas sales figures fuelled rumours the firm was slashing its scheme to offset bad performance. The high street...

News: Government U-turn on NI contributions.
January 29, 2007... The government has made a U-turn on voluntary national insurance (NI) contributions, ruling that individuals making additional payments to guard against future pensions shortfalls will receive a full refund if planned pension reforms result in...

News: Barings runs dynamic mandate for Fiat CIF.
January 29, 2007... Fiat Common Investment Fund (CIF) has appointed Baring Asset Management to run a GBP133m dynamic asset allocation mandate. Fiat CIF represents a number of the UK schemes of the Fiat Group. The dynamic asset allocation fund has a target...