Pensions Week articles from May 2004

Pensions Week archives from May 2004

News: Trustees to safeguard Dennis Group pensions.(pension scheme)
May 3, 2004... Administrators at The Dennis Group, the bus manufacturing subsidiary of the Mayflower Corporation that has gone into administration, have appointed Independent Trustee Services (ITS) to act as its pension scheme trustee. Over 600 scheme...

News: Pollock warns of 'hostile and alarming' new regime.(Pensions)(pension fund environment in UK)
May 3, 2004... The emerging new pensions regime is alarming and hostile, said the UK's top consulting actuary last week. Gordon Pollock, chairman of the Association of Consulting Actuaries, warned pension leaders in a speech before regulators and civil...

News: Islington shift from equities and bonds.(Islington Council.)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Islington Council is to change its investment portfolio by moving up to 10% of the value of its funds away from both bonds and equities. The council has put out a tender for investment managers to take on a GBP20m property mandate and a...

News: UKAEA to compete for public sector third-party admin clients.(The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.)
May 3, 2004... The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is to enter the public sector pension administration market and compete with established providers such as Capita and Paymaster for third-party work. Subject to ministerial assent, an...

News: Wicks closes PPF loophole.(Pension Protection Fund.)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... The government moved last week to block companies planning to dump their scheme at the feet of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) when it is introduced. It is thought that some firms are waiting to close their schemes when the fund is...

News: Deadline passes for with-profits insurers to publish principles of management.(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Last Friday saw the deadline pass for insurers who offer with-profit products to publish their principles and practices of financial management (PPFM). Most providers are expected to have met the deadline, which the Financial Services...

News: HACL to provide actuarial services for TARRC.(HSBC Actuaries and Consultants Limited; Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre )(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... HSBC Actuaries and Consultants Limited (HACL) has been appointed by the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) to provide a range of actuarial and investment consulting services to its defined benefit scheme. MHA Pensions is the previous...

News: Councils trigger shortfall at Essex careers service.
May 10, 2004... Three local authorities in Essex have been blamed for 230 pension scheme members losing up to 60% of their pensions because the authorities forced their employer into liquidation. ESTConnexions is responsible for the careers advisory...

News: December deadline set for fund manager transparency.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... The fund management industry has been given until December to devise a mechanism that reveals how its investment services to pension funds are priced. Currently, many fund managers obtain services from brokers, such as access to trading...

News: Next chief bonuses called into question.(Next plc )(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Next plc has sparked questions over its pensionable bonuses paid to directors. Pirc, the pension fund corporate governance agency, will recommend that investors oppose the company's remuneration report this week. Pirc will also object...

News: PW panel raps investment managers over fee structure.(Ralph Frank)
May 10, 2004... Investment manager fee structures favour fund managers, not their clients, according to Mercer Investment Consulting European principal Ralph Frank, speaking at the latest Pensions Week investment panel (see pages 23 to 30). He added that...

News: Field seeks charitable funds for wound-up scheme members.(Frank Field, MP)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Frank Field MP introduced a private members bill last week that intends to ensure that monies placed in the charitable foundation for unclaimed assets should be used for workers and pensioners who have already lost out when their occupational...

News: Argos sticks with bonds, equities.(Argos PLC)
May 10, 2004... High street retailer Argos' pension scheme has dismissed alternative investments and stuck with bonds and equities. The GBP220m scheme has increased its bond exposure three-fold while still retaining a majority holding in equities,...

News: Standard Life to run Kingfisher's DC scheme.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Standard Life has won the defined contribution (DC) pension mandate for the Kingfisher pension scheme after a competitive tendering process. The win comes after a difficult period for Standard Life, which recently announced plans to...

News: Perks not matched by performance at GSK, says Pirc.(Alan MacDougall; GlaxoSmithKline)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Pirc, the pension fund corporate governance firm, re-ignited the flames over boardroom excess at GlaxoSmithKline last week, but indicated that it will accept the new pension terms of its chief executive. The pharmaceutical giant was...

News: Investment solutions hits oe100m mark.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Multi-manager Investment Solutions has hit the GBP100m mark in assets under management since its launch in the UK in September 2003. Part of the Alexander Forbes group, Investment Solutions now has a total of GBP230m under management...

News: JPMorgan expands property investment.(JPMorgan Fleming )(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... JPMorgan Fleming is expanding its real estate business on this side of the Atlantic, on the back of its US success and in response to client demand. Peter Reilly, managing director and chief investment officer, will head up the expansion...

News: T Rowe Price is right for Flintshire.(Flintshire County Council )
May 10, 2004... Flintshire County Council furthered its growing reputation as an innovative investor last week when it was announced that it had appointed T Rowe Price to manage a US "risk-controlled" equity mandate. The selection process was headed by...

News: Fund-of-hedge-funds key to Japanese stock market.(Omar Kodmani)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... A fund-of-hedge-funds is the best way to continue taking advantage of the upturn in the Japanese stock market, a multi-manager claims. After 12 down years the Japanese market has finally started to perform, with the Nikkei 225 up 56% for...

News: Bill change sparks delay fears.
May 10, 2004... A proposed amendment to the Pensions Bill has sparked anger among many who feel it will introduce further delays in securing compensation for the workers who have lost their pensions. Derek Wyatt, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, has...

News: Five go head-to-head for PMI council places.(Pensions Management Institute)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Five pensions professionals are to challenge each other for three vacant places on the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) council. Two of the contenders - Penny Green, chief executive of SAUL Trustee Co, and Michael Sullivan, head of...

News: Isis launches four new pooled funds.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Isis Asset Management has launched four institutional pooled pension funds in an attempt to address the "gaps" in its pooled fund range. The funds include two further gilt funds bringing Isis fixed-interest funds up to six. These are for...

News: Waddingham gets ACA chair post.(Association Of Consulting Actuaries)(Appointment.)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Adrian Waddingham, a founding partner of actuaries and consultants Barnett Waddingham, has been elected chairman of the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). He will take office from 1 June this year. He succeeds Gordon Pollock, a...

Maestro: A sense of proportion.
May 10, 2004... The introduction of member-nominated trustees (MNTs) has been enormously beneficial to pension schemes, and in many ways removing the opt out provision should also be welcomed. The difficulty is that ever increasing complexity and regulation...

News: Working party to help SMEs on difficult issues.(Simon Chrystal; small to medium-sized employers )
May 10, 2004... The small to medium-sized employers (SMEs) and their pension funds, which will be worst affected by the demands of the new Pensions Bill and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), are least able to obtain high-quality advice to help them cope. ...

News: Liability-led investment is here to stay.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Abdallah Nauphal, chief investment officer at Insight Investment, said liability-driven investment was not a fad and that Insight sees the strategy as necessary for pension funds going forward. "These strategies are not a fad. They...

News: Pensions Bill may drop GMP simplification.(guaranteed minimum pensions)
May 10, 2004... The committee stage of the Pensions Bill ended recently with various amendments - but observers fear simplification of guaranteed minimum pensions may have been dropped. The Bill, which received 22 sittings in the committee stage, next...

Ombudsman Watch.(Column)
May 10, 2004... STUNNING DECISION My dedicated team of ombudsman watch researchers (or more accurately my PA, Megan) reported to me today that there had not been many ombudsman decisions over the last month and there was nothing particularly new in any of...

News: GAM reports record performance for first quarter, but it's not all good news.(Global Asset Management)
May 10, 2004... Profits at Global Asset Management (GAM), the investment manage-ment division of UBS bank, shot up due to higher portfolio fees in the first quarter of the year - but the bank admitted its asset manage-ment performance in some key areas was...

News: Pensions managers enjoy pay premium in personnel profession.
May 10, 2004... Pensions managers are among the best paid managers in the personnel profession, research shows. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said that "reward managers" have the best paid jobs among their peers and earn 12%...

News: Survey shows growth in DC pension schemes.(The chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... The CIPD survey also found that 95% of HR professionals surveyed said their employers offered a pension scheme, but only 66% were offered a defined benefit scheme, compared with 90% in 1994. By contrast, defined contribution schemes have...

News: BAM Asia hedge fund soars to second place.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Baring Asset Management's (BAM) Asia Hedge Select Fund has become the second biggest Asian hedge fund, according to the company, as it approaches its first birthday. The fund has collected more than $80m (GBP44.6m) under management, from a...

News: S&P reveals a volatile first quarter.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... US equities began the year well but flattened out over the first quarter, with the S&P 500 rising 1.7% overall. According to Mercer Investment Consulting: "Initial gains [for US pension funds] were erased by the end of the quarter as the...

News: Jordan: IFAs are for the rich.(Independent financial advisers.)
May 10, 2004... Independent financial advisers (IFAs) will in future advise mainly the "mass affluent" members of society in the new operating environment for financial advice, which is being brought about by polarisation, believes Peter Jordan, Scottish...

News: UK makes top ten of worker/pensioner ratios.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... The UK is in the top third of European countries when it comes to the ratio of workers to pensioners, according to Aon Consulting. But it faces huge problems in the future because the ratio is expected to drop and a system will be...

News: Std Life launches real time client and policy info.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Standard Life has launched a bulk data download service allowing advisers to receive real time client and policy-specific information. Through the company's extranet service - www.ifazone.com - advisers can receive valuations, fund...

News: Events - DC pension lecture.(Watson Wyatt)
May 10, 2004... Watson Wyatt and the London School of Economics (LSE) are to hold a lecture on Thursday 10 June, on defined contribution pension investment strategy. The lecture, Life cycle theory and defined contribution pensions, will be delivered by...

News: Events - Asset allocation conference.
May 10, 2004... A two day conference about asset allocation will take place on 21-22 June at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London. The conference will cover all aspects of strategic and tactical asset allocation, current strategy and alternative...

News: Events - Trustee training courses.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Towers Perrin will run trustee training courses in central London on Wednesday 23 June and Tuesday 5 October. The course covers all the topics that are included in the syllabus for the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) Trustee Certificate...

News: US pressure waters down IAS 19.
May 10, 2004... European companies have been spared the possibility of having to state their E1trn pension deficits on their balance sheets from January next year thanks to US lobbying against a proposed international accounting rule. The re-design of the...

News: Care fee annuity could reduce pensioner costs.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Pensioners who require care and have to pay for it should check if they qualify for a care fee annuity, which could boost their income. A care fee annuity could provide double the income of an ordinary annuity, said The Care Funding Bureau,...

News: Europe to get oe40bn property outsourcing.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... More than GBP40bn of potential property outsourcing is expected in Europe over the next few years, with the majority (70%) coming from Germany, France, Italy and the UK. According to DTZ Research, real estate outsourcing now makes up 15%...

Spotlight: Follow the leader.
May 10, 2004... Being a trustee of an occupational pension schemes is a thankless job. It's one which involves an intensely regulated area which is often in the public eye and one which a trustee from only 30 years ago would be hard-placed to follow if dropped...

Governance Watch: Regus looks to lift restrictions.(Regus Group)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Regus Group (AGM 18 May) is requesting shareholder approval of a new restricted share plan and a new share option plan. Manifest suggests that the schemes could effectively be a blank cheque for up to 10% of the issued share capital for the...

Opinion: Leader - Will hedge fund fees deter pension investors?
May 10, 2004... High fee structures at hedge funds may be giving pension funds pause for thought before they take the plunge and invest. After all, it is big jump from typical long-only fees of less than 1%, to the typical hedge fund fee structure of an annual...

Opinion: Personal View - Are we saving enough? Maybe we should find out more.(Column)
May 10, 2004... It has been so much accepted that there is a savings gap in this country that it will sound wrong to even ask whether we are saving enough. But other countries are exploring the question in new ways and coming up with new and surprising...

Opinion: Inside View - Ignoring SRI is unsustainable in the long run.(socially responsible investment)
May 10, 2004... The last few years have witnessed great evolution in the socially responsible investment (SRI) market. There has been rapid growth in funds incorporating intangible value considerations, with considerably more attention paid to these funds by...

Investment Panel: New balanced management - Intro.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Pensions Week is pleased to bring its readers our latest investment panel roundtable of 2004, which covers 'new balanced management'. We are very grateful to all of the participants and to Goldman Sachs Asset Management and HSBC Asset...

Investment Panel: New balanced management - Profiles.
May 10, 2004... Danny Truell, managing director , Goldman Sachs Asset Management Danny Truell has co-headed the Global Investment Strategies (GIS) Group with Kurt Winkleman since its creation in 2001. GIS is responsible for Goldman Sachs Asset Management's...

Investment Panel: New balanced management - What is 'new balanced management' and is it likely to catch on?(Interview)
May 10, 2004... Pensions Week: What is meant by 'new balanced management'? Geoff Cheetham, director, institutional business, HSBC Asset Management: I understand that the term 'new balanced' is trying to encapulsate multi-asset mandates, which not only...

Focus: Investment spectrum - Intro.
May 10, 2004... One of the key themes of current pension fund investment thinking is the need to consider the full range of investment opportunities, as far as is possible. This issue was flagged up by Paul Myners and is now at the core of what many...

Focus: Investment spectrum - Exploring the spectrum of alternative assets.
May 10, 2004... There was a time when the composition of a pension fund was pretty predictable - an equity and fixed interest equation weighted accordingly to satisfy individual risk criteria. That should do the trick, so long as contributions remained steady...

Focus: Investment spectrum - Spoilt for choice with investments.
May 10, 2004... The asset allocations of UK pension funds are becoming increasingly diversified as the industry faces up to a number of problems with traditional approaches. This trend (dubbed full spectrum investing) has seen the tried and tested reliance on...

Focus: Investment spectrum - Targeting liabilities.
May 10, 2004... Change in regulation and see-saws in the markets have given the pension industry some salutary lessons. Managing assets against benchmarks is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The main business of those responsible for a pension fund...

Focus: Investment spectrum - Arise specialist manager.
May 10, 2004... The death of traditional balanced management has been well chronicled. The days of pension funds appointing a single manager and benchmarking themselves against the peer group are, for the most part, behind us. In the end, balanced...

Focus: Investment spectrum - Company profile - Deutsche Bank.(Company Profile)
May 10, 2004... Background With roughly E878bn* in assets and approximately 66,900 employees, Deutsche Bank offers unparalleled financial services in 74 countries throughout the world. Deutsche Bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial...

Focus: Investment spectrum - Company profile - Schroders.(Company Profile)
May 10, 2004... Background Schroders is a leading global asset manager with a history of 200 years and over GBP98bn* under management. Schroders began managing assets in 1922 and UK pension schemes in 1947 and continues to look after the interests of its...

Focus: Investment spectrum - Company profile - Barclays Global Investors Limited.(Company Profile)
May 10, 2004... Background Established over 30 years ago, Barclays Global Investors Limited (BGI) is today one of the world's largest fund managers. BGI, a subsidiary of Barclays plc, has a significant international presence, with 10 offices worldwide and...

Focus: Communication - Intro.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Few things in life are as underestimated in value as good communication. Add to this the fact that it is very easy for organisation or individuals to overestimate their communication skills and you have a common recipe for misunderstanding and...

Focus: Communication - The times they are a'changing.
May 10, 2004... When the history of retirement provision in the UK is finally written, there is one theme which will take up many chapters and doubtless cause as much debate in the future as it does today. That theme concerns the decisions made by many...

Focus: Communication - DC - communication is all you need.
May 10, 2004... Providing choice to members is one of the main advantages of a defined contribution (DC) pension plan. A good DC pension arrangement empowers its members to take full control of their investment choices in a way that is not open to them in more...

Focus: Communication - Company profile - Fidelity.(Company Profile)
May 10, 2004... Company background Millions of investors across the globe recognise Fidelity as the world's largest fund manager, with over GBP640bn funds under management. We are also the world's leading provider of defined contribution services....

People on the move: Shoemake faces the public.(Jane Shoemake appointed at threadneedle Investments)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Threadneedle Investments has appointed Jane Shoemake as an investment specialist. This is a new client-facing role, working alongside the fund management team to provide institutional clients with detailed information on Threadneedle's...

People on the move: Callick given global role at NT.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Sally-Anne Callick has been appointed vice-president of UK business development for Northern Trust's institutional custody and asset servicing business. She will have direct responsibility for global custody business development in the UK...

People on the move: Hillier heads European equity post at Deutsche.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Piers Hillier has been named as Deutsche Asset Management's head of European institutional equities as the company aims to boost the performance of its institutional portfolios. He will report to Stephen Barrow, head of global equities. ...

People on the move: Three make it to the top at Sacker & Partners.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Sacker & Partners has announced the promotion of three partners and two associates from May 1. Claire Carey, one of the new partners, is responsible for keeping the firm's clients and lawyers informed of all legal changes, as its director...

People on the move: Nelson takes the chair at PIFC.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2004... Employee benefits consultancy PIFC has appointed James Nelson as its executive chairman. Tom Fraser and Terry Bennett, the company's founder, are to join him as non- executive directors. The moves follow the secondary buy-out of PIFC...

News Just In... : FPS purchase forms new consulting firm.
May 10, 2004... A new pension fund consulting company has been formed with the purchase by FPS Group, a specialist pensions service provider, of Robert Fleming Benefit Consultants (RFBC). The move will see both firms come together under the FPS Group...

News Just In... : MM and Threadneedle team up for DC product.(MM Asset Management, Threadneedle Asset Management, defined contribution )
May 10, 2004... Threadneedle Asset Management has teamed up with MM Asset Management to launch a defined contribution (DC) pension product. Threadneedle will provide product knowledge and communications expertise, while MM will provide a range of...

News: Argos shift to specialism sees Gartmore gain oe60m.
May 17, 2004... The GBP220m (e328m) Argos pension scheme has awarded Gartmore Investment Management a GBP60m specialist UK equities brief following a decision to move away from balanced management. Roger Buckley, pension fund manager at Argos, said the...

News: New Hampshire signs large-cap managers.
May 17, 2004... The $4.5bn New Hampshire Retirement System has hired LSV Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) to oversee $110m each in large-cap growth equity after sacking Fred Alger Management. The fund terminated its 20-year...

News: Lufthansa agrees to keep State Street on board.
May 17, 2004... Lufthansa German Airlines has hired State Street Corporation to provide custody and accounting services for its pension provisions worth E4.3bn. The airline group had previously used Deutsche Bank's Global Securities Services and chose to...

Editorial: Happy days ahead for diligent investors.
May 17, 2004... The fitful recovery in equity markets over the last year has done little to ease the funding pains of pension schemes. But when it comes to diversifying their portfolios in a bid to boost returns, they might be in a stronger position than they...

News: In brief - BBH strikes Icelandic global custody deal.
May 17, 2004... The $1.8bn Lifeyrissjodur Verzlunarmanna, Iceland's second largest pension fund, has hired Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) to provide global custody and fund accounting services. Thorgeir Eyjolfsson, managing director of the fund, said BBH's...

News: In brief - Fresh allegations see Putnam subpoenaed.
May 17, 2004... Putnam Investments faces a fresh investigation into its relationship with consultants after it was subpoenaed by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The subpoenas relate "to plan expense reimbursement agreements between Putnam...

News: In brief - RAB hires BNP Paribas for launch of Irish fund.
May 17, 2004... BNP Paribas Securities has been appointed as service provider for RAB Capital's newly-established Irish-domiciled fund. As part of the deal, BNP Paribas's Dublin office will provide fund administration, transfer agency, trustee and global...

News: In brief - Moller to replace Daeninck at Robeco.
May 17, 2004... The board of Robeco has appointed George Moller as chief executive following the resignation of Gery Daeninck. Mr Moller was previously a chief operating officer at Euronext, with responsibility for its cash and clearing business unit. ...

News: In brief - Citigroup pays $2.65bn to WorldCom investors.
May 17, 2004... Citigroup has agreed to pay $2.65bn to investors who bought stock and bonds in WorldCom before its bankruptcy filing two years ago. The settlement was announced by Charles Prince, chief executive of Citigroup, and Alan G. Hevesi,...

News: EU settlement directive wins support.
May 17, 2004... A trade body of custodian banks has welcomed a proposed EU directive aimed at removing the barriers to cross-border clearing and settlement. The consultation includes an action plan outlining the initiatives necessary to achieve an...

News: Call to re-assess risk profile of AIM stocks.
May 17, 2004... Small-cap companies listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) fear they are at risk of losing out due to a perceived lack of interest from institutional investors. PKF, a firm of accountants and business advisors, surveyed 182...

News: MNPA nets Comet administration contract.
May 17, 2004... The Comet Group has appointed third-party administrator MNPA to provide administration, accounting and pensioner payroll services for its new pension arrangement. Comet's administration was previously carried out as part of the in-house...

Comment and Analysis: Are the days of easy money dwindling?
May 17, 2004... Not a single week passes without news regarding pension funds investing in hedge funds. Although the proportion of schemes taking this investment approach is still limited, it is growing and the fact that some of the largest European pension...

News: Russell moves $1.8bn to MSIM.
May 17, 2004... Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) has been appointed to run a $1.8bn global bond fund as part of Frank Russell's multi-manager platform. The investment manager replaces Fischer Francis Trees & Watts and takes 42.5 per cent of the...

News: Gartmore re-opens AlphaGen European equity hedge fund.
May 17, 2004... Gartmore is to re-open its European equity directional hedge fund just as the company's Japanese long/short equity hedge fund is about to reach capacity. The AlphaGen Velas fund, managed by David Thompson, opened briefly to investors at...