Pensions Week articles from March 2004

Pensions Week archives from March 2004

News:.(rules govern benefits for pension plan wind ups)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Lawyers say the government's backdating of the buy-out rules announced last year could be illegal because it could alter the amount of benefit that scheme members stand to receive. Andrew Smith, the secretary of state for work and pensions,...

News: IFAs may be jumping the gun over mis-selling reviews.(independent financial advisers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Financial advisers may be withdrawing their pension mis-selling review teams before the dust has settled, according to consultant Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT). JLT's warning comes after the Financial Services Authority fined independent...

News: Swift takes over after Delamain quits Profund.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Charles Delamain, the charismatic chief executive of Profund Systems has suddenly left the company, it was revealed last week. He has been replaced by Profund non-executive director Steve Swift, who had previously set up PeopleSoft UK and...

News: CEO set to retire with oe4.5m payout while scheme remains in deficit.
March 1, 2004... Members of the under-funded Spirent pension scheme are seeing their benefits further reduced while their company's chief executive is set to retire and walk away with a GBP4.5m pension pot. In its preliminary results announced last week,...

News: Watson doubles allocation to absolute return mandates.(Watson Wyatt evaluates fund managers)
March 1, 2004... Watson Wyatt awarded 16 absolute return mandates to fund managers last year, more than double the seven such mandates awarded in 2002 and 60% up on the number awarded in 2001. With absolute return mandates, the principal target is not...

News: Crucial week for wind-up victims.(business closures affect pension fund holders)
March 1, 2004... MPs are expected to come under huge pressure on Tuesday to compensate workers who have lost their pensions after their employers collapsed, leaving their schemes underfunded. It is the day of the second reading in the House of Commons of...

News: 800,000 pensioners missing out on additional financial support.(National Pensioners Convention)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) said the latest government figures on the take-up of income related benefits show that "pensioners and means- testing simply don't mix." The figures from the Department for Work and Pensions relate...

News: First signs of recovery in savings industry.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... More and more people are buying pensions through financial advisers, according to figures released by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). In 1999, less than 60% of individual pensions were sold through independent financial advisers...

News: Taylor kicks govt sports pension policy into touch.(Professional Footballers' Association's Gordon Taylor)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, has challenged the government's policy on pensions for sportsmen and women. Taylor was due to address a one-day conference last week organised by the Institute of...

News: FSA unveils menu of advice fees.(Financial Services Authority defines adviser charges)
March 1, 2004... A 'menu' of financial advice fees and commissions formed part of a package of proposals last week designed to make charging by advisers more transparent. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said that consumers will have a much clearer...

News: Custodians attack new survey ratings.(Pension Schemes)(pension fund custodians/managers)
March 1, 2004... Custodians are angry about a survey that rates their services, claiming it does not compare like with like. Many say that comparing local custodians with worldwide players - as in the case of the controversial Guide Michelin by R&M...

News: Letter.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The DWP statement in Gary Corcoran's article on page three of PW 23.02.04 only addresses part of the problem with SI2002/380. Even if the stricter debt calculations only apply to calculations made after 19 March 02, this does not...

News: BUSM scheme members claim they were misled over MFR.(British United Shoe Machinery pension fund)(Minimum Funding Requirement)(Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Pensioners in Leicester are outraged at what they see as guarantees made by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) not being met, leaving them with little or no income in retirement. As a result of the winding-up of the...

News: SSgA wins oe50m Reckitt mandate.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has scooped a GBP50m brief from the UK pension fund of Reckitt Benckiser, manufacturer of household cleaning products. The mandate, for UK enhanced indexed equity, comes as part of a trend by pension...

News: 80% support proposed changes to tax laws.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Around 80% of pension schemes support the Inland Revenue's proposals to change tax laws, research has indicated. A survey among clients of Hewitt Bacon &Woodrow, the HR and consulting firm, revealed the figure. Hewitt said in its...

News: Barclays: reduce risk with more commodity assets.
March 1, 2004... Pension funds and other long-term investors should put up to 10% of their assets in commodities in order to reduce risk, according to this year's Equity Gilt study from Barclays Capital. Kevin Norrish, a director at Barclays Capital, said...

News: Prudential claims 16% of DC business.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Prudential had a 16% market share in the defined contribution occupational pensions business at the end of 2003, the insurer said last week. It also ran 22% of the individual annuity market, according to its latest results. ...

News: Sting in the tale - When will the penny drop?
March 1, 2004... A year ago last week, I coined the phrase 'penny-dropping day'. I did it at a conference run by the Inland Revenue to explain that, before we could agree that 6 April 2005 was a sensible date for A-Day, we would first have to have chapter and...

News: High Court rules on schemes with different structures.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Schemes with different benefit structures for different members are treated as one scheme for the purposes of calculating the debt on the employer. In the case of Pitmans Trustees v Telecommunications Group, a High Court judge also deemed...

News: Priority blow for older workers.
March 1, 2004... The government has said it would be too complicated to amend the priority order for paying out money from wound-up schemes to reflect the length of service of its members. Andrew Smith, the secretary of state for work and pensions, began...

News: Ombudsman watch.
March 1, 2004... Ombudsman I think that this is the first time I have ever written a piece entitled 'ombudsman'. I have been inspired to do this by the Pensions Bill. The bill is long. But it is short on detail. It should be dedicated to one of my former...

News: Threadneedle brings in record institutional business.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Threadneedle Asset Management has had a busy 12 months with its acquisition by American Express not detracting from bringing in a record amount of new institutional business. In 2003, Threadneedle won GBP2.5bn of new UK institutional...

News: Life insurance prospects looking up.
March 1, 2004... Top analysts predicted a rosy future for the troubled life insurance industry last week, saying that profits were set to increase and share prices will rise. Morgan Stanley said the insurance industry is set to take advantage of mergers...

News: Winterthur launches elite range of funds.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Winterthur Life has launched the Elite Distribution Managed Life & Pension Funds for individuals which use managers from five external houses to provide a defensive product with exposure to equities. As well as Winterthur products, the...

News: Scottish Life sees surge in company-backed pensions.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Sales of company-backed pension schemes formed a major part of Scottish Life's business last year, according to The Royal London Group, its parent company that announced record business results for the group last week. Company-based...

News: Hermes PAM invests in factory outlet property.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The Royal Mail and British Telecom pension funds' property investment manager, Hermes Property Asset Management, is to spend GBP245.5m to buy a 99% shareholding in Freeport Limited Partnership, which owns three factory outlet centres in...

News: Euro strength could halter equities.
March 1, 2004... The euro's contining rise could weaken the outlook for investment in European equities, say fund managers, although they remain positive on the sector. European experts at both Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) and Legal & General...

News: Scottish Mutual's CRP notches up seven funds.(Complete Retirement Package )
March 1, 2004... Seven funds, including products from Morley and Liontrust, have been added to Scottish Mutual's Complete Retirement Package (CRP) product, which is offered through independent financial advisers. External fund links have been established to...

News: Gold still has the Midas touch, says S&P's research.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... There's nothing so good as gold, according to the latest research from ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P). The median fund value for the gold and basic materials sector grew by 21.5% in dollar terms in the last quarter of 2003. The...

News: Events - Post-budget seminar.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Aspen, the independent financial adviser, is holding a post-Budget simplification seminar on 25 March to alert clients to the implications of the proposed post A-day rules for people nearing retirement. Any client with AVCs/FSAVCs or who is...

News: Events - Alternative investments.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Private equity, hedge funds and derivatives will be put under the microscope at an Alternative Investment Summit on 22 and 23 March in London. Speakers will include Urs Alder, senior manager, Man Investments. Telephone 01202 201182 to register....

News: Events - NAPF conference.(National Association of Pension Funds)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) holds its annual investment conference at the International Conference Centre in Edinburgh on 17-19 March. Paul Myners, author of the Treasury-commissioned report into institutional...

News: Events - Pensions bill brief.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Law firm DLA will hold a briefing about the Pensions Bill on Thursday 25 March. The half-day briefing takes place at the London offices of the firm and will be delivered by partners and solicitors from DLA's London press team. A speaker...

News: Events - Dealing with change.
March 1, 2004... All Change in Pensions - What Does it Mean for You is a seminar being held by Mercer Human Resource Consulting in Birmingham (1 April) and Glasgow (20 April). For more information call Eldorna Mapp on 020 7963 3193. Meanwhile, the firm...

News: Looking after the interests of shareholders as Pirc launches its new voting guidelines.
March 1, 2004... A meeting room inside the national headquarters of the trade union movement hosted a gathering of shareholder interest groups on Tuesday last week. It was Paul Myners, chairing the meeting about corporate governance, who pointed out the irony...

Spotlight: Creating a lasting bond.
March 1, 2004... In the UK, interest rates are already rising. In the US, the Federal Reserve recently removed the phrase 'considerable period' from their statement when referring to keeping interest rates on hold. Many investors now anticipate US interest...

Governance Watch: Eurodis Electron flows towards EGM.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Eurodis Electron, has an EGM today (1 March) to approve a placing and open offer. The company considers it is also 'an appropriate time to grant further share options to directors at the special option price'. At the same meeting they are...

Opinion: Leader - The value of diversifying investments.
March 1, 2004... The importance of pension funds taking a long-term view was spelt out this week by some of the findings of the latest Equity Gilt Study by Barclays Capital. In particular, its comments on inflation and value of diversification are...

Opinion: Personal view - What's so good about property fund-of-funds anyway?
March 1, 2004... 2003 saw an explosion in the use of fund-of-fund mandates in the UK property sector and it looks likely that this growth will continue. Since the early 1990s many pension funds have moved away from holding direct portfolio's of UK property...

Opinion: Inside view - Does the new priority order strike the right balance?
March 1, 2004... On 22 October 2003, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced their proposals for amending the statutory priority order when a defined benefit (DB) scheme is wound-up (The Occupational Pension Schemes (Winding Up) (Amendment)...

Special Report: Defined contribution: the new favourite.
March 1, 2004... Defined contribution (DC) plans are beginning to take over as the most popular form of occupational pension provision today, as more employers begin to realise that they cannot afford to continue offering traditional final salary arrangements....

People on the Move: Morley appoint Kambo in new fixed income post.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Upkar Kambo is filling a new role at Morley Fund Management as the company's new fixed income quantitative analyst, reporting to Ceris Williams, head of fixed income. He was recruited from UBS Global Asset Management where he was a senior...

People on the Move: Real estate specialist Rattigan joins DePAM.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Mark Rattigan has been appointed as chief operating officer (COO) of Deutsche Property Asset Management (DePAM), as the company increases its emphasis on its property investment business. He will be based in London and report to Bill...

People on the Move: Edis goes for West in wake of increased admin demand.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Increased demand and plans for expansion have led Edis Partnerships to name Sarah West as its new partner. She will manage the key pensions administration outsourcing division of the practice including client relationships, areas in which...

People on the Move: Jones makes jumps to Cofunds for product development role.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The intermediary-only fund supermarket, Cofunds, has appointed Mark Jones as product development director. He joins from Zurich Financial Services where he spent nine years in senior marketing and strategic development roles. Jones...

People on the Move: Managers move in at iimia as private business grows.(Independent Investment Management and Investment Advice )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Independent Investment Management and Investment Advice (iimia) has strengthened its private client business and appointed two new senior investment managers. Rupert Neal has joined from stockbrokers Gerrards, to lead iimia's private...

News Just In... : Climate change linked to China's growth.
March 1, 2004... The growing importance of China to the world economy is raising awareness of the dangers associated with climate change among financial institutions. Climate change was described last week as one factor driving China's rapid...

News Just In... : JLTAS wins Outokumpu admin services mandate.(Jardine Lloyd Thompson Administration Solutions)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Jardine Lloyd Thompson Administration Solutions (JLTAS) has won the mandate to provide administration services for stainless steel manufacturer Outokumpu Stainless. Outokumpu Stainless' pension arrangement was formerly the AvestaPolarit...

News Just In... : BAM believes in Japan recovery.(Baring Asset Management )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Baring Asset Management (BAM) believes that conditions in Japan are finally changing after a 27.56% rise in the Tokyo stock exchange. The pace of economic growth is starting to pick up, prices are no longer falling so quickly, and business...

News: Activists raise concerns over directors' pensions.
March 8, 2004... Directors at several major FTSE 100 companies, including Anglo American and Reed Elsevier, are facing a campaign by pension fund shareholder activists over what are seen as excessive pension packages. Mining company Anglo American is likely...

News: Revenue's contributions to double after rebate mistake.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... The Inland Revenue is to double the size of its contribution to pension schemes in order to help them over its mistake on age-related rebates. More than 1,300 schemes will benefit from the GBP2,000 per scheme payment, which has been...

News: Penrose Report to finally see the light of day.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... The long-awaited report by Lord Penrose into Equitable Life is to be published today (08.03.04). The Penrose Report was commission in August 2001 and was finally handed to the Treasury in December 2003. Penrose was appointed by the...

News: Marks & Spencer borrows oe400m to plug scheme deficit.
March 8, 2004... The move by Marks & Spencer to plug its scheme deficit by issuing bonds is a win-win situation, as long as the scheme also invests the money in bonds, a leading adviser said last week. The retailer announced that it is to partly make up the...

News: Wicks announces PCB compensation levy rise.(Pensions Compensation Board)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... The increase in complaints about pensions has led to the Pensions Compensation Board (PCB) raising a compensation levy for the first time since 1997, pensions minister Malcolm Wicks confirmed last week. The PCB provides assistance to...

News: JLT gets multi-million pound outsourcing contract from ANFIS.(Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Abbey National Financial and Investment Services)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Abbey National Financial and Investment Services (ANFIS) has given Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) the outsourcing contract to manage Scottish Provident's entire defined benefit portfolio. The contract will run for five years and is expected...

News: Pensions Bill - Second reading fails to silence critics.
March 8, 2004... The second reading of the pensions bill last week did little to help members and providers in the growing defined contribution (DC) sector, critics noted. The bill focused heavily on defined benefit (DB) schemes, with its emphasis on the...

News: Pensions Bill - Latest draft looks after employee interests.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... The latest draft of the pensions bill announced last week introduced several changes to the original version produced in the middle of February. - Employers will now have to consult their employees if they want to make any changes to their...

News: Pensions Bill - MPs rally together for pension scheme victims.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... MPs from all parties called for 'something to be done' for the estimated 60,000 pension scheme members who have lost part or all of their benefits, in last week's parliamentary debate on the pensions bill. Despite the government's attempts...

News: Pensions Bill - Consultation requirement may upset vital timing.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... The pensions bill's requirement for employers to consult with their employees if they make any changes to their pension scheme could have far-reaching implications. It could also be a worry for employers changing their scheme design, said...

News: Pensions Bill - Dexion workers' hopes crushed.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Former workers at Dexion were among the 60,000 people whose hopes for compensation were dashed as the pensions bill was given its second reading in the House of Commons last week. They were among a crowd of demonstrators who converged on...

News: Schemes dread derivative embarrassment.
March 8, 2004... The biggest fear trustees and scheme managers have over entering the derivatives market is not that they might have to explain to members the reason for the strategy if it fails, but that they would be left red-faced and unable to even explain...

News: Investors inject oe1bn into multi-managers.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... UK institutional investors injected nearly GBP1bn into multi-manager products last year and took out increasingly larger mandates. The Association for Institutional Multi-Manager Investing (AIMMI) said this represented 59 new institutional...

News: Govt's refusal to curb fat cat bonuses splits corporate governance experts.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... The government's decision to not legislate against what many see as excessive rewards for directors at companies that underperform has divided corporate governance experts. Patricia Hewitt, the secretary of state for trade and industry,...

News: Auto entry sees B&CE numbers swell.(Building & Civil Engineering (B&CE) Pension Scheme)
March 8, 2004... Automatic enrolment, which is proposed by the government for all occupational pension schemes, has "dramatically" increased the membership of the Building & Civil Engineering (B&CE) Pension Scheme, since it was introduced 12 months ago. ...

News: SEI secures oe26m of multi-manager business.(SONY ELECTRONICS INCORPORATION)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... SEI has won a further GBP26m of multi-manager business in the UK from three new clients. Mellon consultancy was involved in awarding a GBP17.5m global equity (including UK) mandate to SEI from the Printpack pension scheme, a flexible...

News: Insightful disclosure idea could increase transparency.( )(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Companies will be able to scrutinise more efficiently the decisions of their active shareholders if Insight Investment's initiative to disclose behind- closed-doors talks with directors is adopted further afield. The fund manager, part of...

News: Maiden Outdoor takes on Investment Solutions as multi-manager.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Maiden Outdoor has given Investment Solutions, a multi-manager, the mandate to manage one of its closed defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. The scheme, operated by Maiden Outdoor, a media company, is for British Transport Advertising,...

News: Benchmark - PPF - a qualified success.
March 8, 2004... So we now have a compensation fund, or at least we are definitely going to. And quite right too. Where individuals are made what appear to be promises on which they often rely entirely for their retirement income, then an insurance style safety...

News: Savers prefer flexibility over buying an annuity.
March 8, 2004... Most people would not buy an annuity if they did not have to and would instead prefer to have flexibility over their finances. Watson Wyatt, the actuaries and consultants, found that nearly 60% of people in the UK would not convert their...

News: Standard Life restructures direct sales business.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Standard Life, the insurer with GBP90bn under management, is restructuring its direct sales business - a move that will help the mutual in "maximising the potential of existing group pension schemes", among other objectives, the company says....

News: Tax simplification to benefit owner-managers.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... The government's proposals for pensions tax simplification will create a wealth of new opportunities for owner-managers to realise the financial investment that they have made in their businesses, says PKF Financial Planning, an independent...

News: Discrimination may hit older workers.
March 8, 2004... A recent court ruling in the United States against technology giant IBM shows the UK government-proposed age discrimination regulations could work against older pension scheme members, legal experts say. A US federal court found that the...

News: Ombudsman Watch.
March 8, 2004... Homme d'affaires What do you expect from your lawyer? In particular, do you expect her or him to be an homme d'affaires? If you are a judge in Jersey, we know the answer is 'yes'. We have to thank, for this information, the law lords and...

News: Gresham Property prepares for take off with new deals.(Gresham Property Partners)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Gresham Property Partners, a limited partnership managed by Schroders Property Investment Management, has acquired GBP50m of additional property in three deals that include a former airfield. The 200-acre former airfield in Bedford is an...

News: BGI: ETFs offer less tracking error than futures.(Barclays Global Investors )(exchange traded funds )(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Institutional investors looking for exposure to pan-European equities should be considering exchange traded funds (ETFs) as an alternative to futures because they have less tracking error when sticking to a benchmark, says Barclays Global...

News: New EU members gain UK pension rights.
March 8, 2004... Workers posted to, or from, the 10 European Union (EU) accession countries from, or to, the UK will have the right to remain in home country pension funds. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the critical human resources...

News: Isis moves to alternatives in bid to reach top five.(Cardinal Asset Management.)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Isis Asset Management has released its annual results with the announcement of a move into alternatives and the reiteration of its goal to become a top five player in the next four years. Isis, which has seen profit growth of 14.8%, to...

News: S&P's award first to L&G's distribution fund.(Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency)(Legal & General's pension distribution fund)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency, has awarded first place to Legal & General's pension distribution fund for its performance in the cautious managed sector over one year. The pension distribution fund is a balanced fund, which is...

News: Events - Simplification seminar.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... Aspen, the independent financial adviser, is holding a post-Budget simplification seminar on 25 March to alert clients to the implications of the proposed post A-day rules for people nearing retirement. Any client with AVCs/FSAVCs or who is...

News: S&P launches DB rating service.
March 15, 2004... Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency, has begun the launch of its pensions service that will be the first to independently assess the financial strength of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes and their investment decisions. The...

News: Council tax rise beckons as local govt fund reveals deficit.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... The deficit in the local government pension scheme is GBP3.8bn, meaning council taxes are under more pressure to rise due to fund debt. The vast majority of county council pension schemes are seriously underfunded, forcing local authorities...

News: UKSIF to unveil internet forum.(UK Social Investment Forum)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... UK Social Investment Forum (UKSIF) is to unveil an online discussion forum to build on ideas concerning engagement and sustainable investment generated by the Universities Superannuation Scheme/Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow long-term mandate...

News: TUC: Directors' pensions receive VIP treatment while staff schemes are cut.(Trades Union Congress)
March 15, 2004... Action by shareholders over directors' pensions came closer last week when the Trades Union Congress (TUC) accused FTSE 100 executives of feeding greedily at the "pensions trough". The TUC said opaque pensions information could help...

News: Anthony joins WHO advisory panel.(Mike Anthony)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... The World Health Organisation (WHO) has appointed Mike Anthony, a past president of the Pensions Management Institute, to join its advisory investment committee in Geneva. In his advisory capacity, Anthony has already been involved with...