Pensions Week articles from November 2005

Pensions Week archives from November 2005

News: Five go straight to jail for GBP3m pension fraud.
November 7, 2005... The UK's largest pension fraud case since Maxwell has ended with five people jailed for a total of 26 years over the theft of GBP3m from the pension fund of Midlands-based manufacturing firm, CW Cheney. The sentences were passed in May and...

News: Proposed public sector savings are obliterated by drop in interest rates.
November 7, 2005... The government's limp effort to reform public sector pensions faces a further blow after savings were wiped out by falling interest rates, according to consultants. The projected 50-year savings from raising the public sector pension age...

News: Actuaries pass the reins to Dumbreck.
November 7, 2005... The Institute of Actuaries has appointed Nick Dumbreck as its next president. Dumbreck will take up the presidency in July 2006 and will serve a term of two years. He joined the profession in 1976 and qualified as a fellow of the...

News: PPF guidance not sufficient to meet scheme members' needs.
November 7, 2005... The financial services industry is not equipped to provide individual scheme members with advice on whether to enter the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) when their companies become insolvent, an independent trustee warned. According to Chris...

News: State Street contract renewed.
November 7, 2005... The GBP280m Lloyds TSB superannuation scheme has reappointed State Street as global custodian. The pension fund, which recently underwent major change, which saw the appointment of four new investment managers (PW 17.10.05), will use State...

News: Emerging market equities top of class.
November 7, 2005... Emerging market equities was the top performing asset class for UK pension funds in the last 12 months, returning an incredible 49.9%. According to the CAPS pooled pension fund figures for 30 September 2005, emerging markets have also been...

News: Blunkett's exit triggers alarm.
November 7, 2005... The departure of David Blunkett from his post as work and pension secretary is a disaster for pensions reform, according to industry players. With just weeks to go until Adair Turner publishes the Pensions Commission's report, the...

News: Government report offers details but no solutions.
November 7, 2005... The government's 160-page report on the state of women's pensions further reinforces the need for urgent reform but fails to suggest any solutions, the industry warned. The Department for Work and Pensions' report goes into painstaking...

News: Sipps prove main choice for future pension designs.
November 7, 2005... Traditional pension plan designs are a thing of the past and will be replaced by multi-manager personal pensions post A-day, research found. Skandia interviewed 500 financial advisers who argued that self-invested personal pensions (Sipps)...

News: Blunkett Quotes.
November 7, 2005... Blunkett's second exit The departure of work and pensions secretary has caused widespread consternation and concern. Gill Wadsworth hears views from the pensions industry's biggest players. Christine Farnish, chief executive of...

News: Laws condemns bungled reform.
November 7, 2005... The Liberal Democrats have embarked on a scathing attack of the government's and Conservatives' pensions policies. David Laws, the Lib Dems' work and pensions spokesman, has lambasted the government over its bungling of the public sector...

News: Aberdeen builds up Asian equities with income product.
November 7, 2005... Aberdeen Asset Management, the new owner of Deutsche Asset Management, has launched an Asian income fund. The asset manager, which has become synonymous with Asian equity funds, will use the fund to invest in Asian Pacific equities. ...

News: DB legacy imposes increasing pressure.
November 7, 2005... The majority of finance directors think too much time is spent managing closed defined benefit (DB) schemes, despite concern from companies that such plans impose a significant financial burden. A report by Aon Consulting found that more...

News: Don't miss future editions of the Trustee Masterclass.
November 7, 2005... Have you been keeping up to date with the Trustee Masterclass series produced as a joint initiative between PW and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM)? The Trustee Masterclass aims to help UK pension fund trustees with the increasing...

News: F&C and Mellon abandon deal.
November 7, 2005... F&C Asset Management has failed to agree a suitable price for outsourcing services with Mellon Financial Corporation, seeing the deal collapse after months of negotiations. The two firms, who had been locked in discussions since F&C merged...

News: One-third of schemes may not hit fund targets.
November 7, 2005... More than 2,000 schemes will struggle to meet the Pensions Regulator's proposed funding requirements which are over-reliant on the FRS 17 accounting standards, according to consultants. Companies will be forced to pour GBP130bn in extra...

News: Governing bodies help consumers get ready for A-day.
November 7, 2005... The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has clubbed together with the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) to produce a factsheet to help prepare consumers for the impact of pension reform after A-day, 6 April next year. ...

News: News in brief.
November 7, 2005... CAPITA BAGS BROKER One of UK's largest third-party administrators, Capita Hartshead, has snapped up Jardine Lloyd Thompson's former business development manager, John Broker. At Capita, also working as a business development manager,...

News: Letters - Everyone needs to play their part.(Letter to the Editor)
November 7, 2005... My thanks to Giles Orton for correcting me that Frank Field's intention was to only seek contributions from active and pensioner members. I agree with Giles' point made in his letter (PW 31.10.05) that the full cost of a scheme failure...

News: Letters - Time to update commission methodology?(Letter to the Editor)
November 7, 2005... The article "Insurance firms push commission rates even higher" (PW, 17.10.05) contained a very interesting series of comments from Andy Agar of Legal & General - there is clearly a "commission war" with a "danger of mis- selling" but he is...

News: Sting in the tale - Great expectations.
November 7, 2005... It was my father-in-law's 80th birthday the other day and we had a big party to celebrate the event. Even at 80 he remains interested in pensions although he's now five years too old to be saving in one because of our ludicrously outdated...

News: Buy annuities now or pay the price after A-day.
November 7, 2005... Annuity rates could plummet following A-day regulations set to come into force in April next year, according to the Annuity Bureau. The annuity provider has urged people to snap up annuities ahead of A-day instead of taking advantage of...

News: Top quartile or bust for investors.
November 7, 2005... Unless investors in private equity can access top quartile performers they might as well have not bothered with the asset class, according to new research. The research found that dispersions of returns in private equity are far larger...

News: Ombudsman watch.
November 7, 2005... Goodbye "Now so long David B, it's time that we began to laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again." And welcome John Hutton - secretary of state for work and pensions for November. Those of a certain generation may recognise the...

News: Mifid preparation levels low.
November 7, 2005... More than two-thirds of investment firms in the UK are not prepared for the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive - known as Mifid - according to a report. The survey by the Mifid joint working group revealed that a large majority of...

News: Asian growth has global influence.
November 7, 2005... Institutional investors should not overlook the growing importance of Asia and China on global fixed income markets, according to Baring Asset Management (BAM). Marino Valensise, BAM's global head of fixed income, said the changes to the...

NAPF notice board.
November 7, 2005... NAPF Autumn Conference 2005 Thursday 17 November 2005, QEII Conference Centre, London Presenters Stephen Timms MP, minister for pensions Christine Farnish, chief executive, NAPF Matthew Demwell, Mercer Human Resource...

Governance update: Considering remuneration issues at Wolseley.
November 7, 2005... Wolseley is holding its annual general meeting on 17 November 2005 and RREV has raised a number of concerns regarding certain aspects of its remuneration policy in its report, which it has discussed in detail with the company. RREV recommended...

Spotlight: Making a more informed decision.
November 7, 2005... Ever since Gary Brinson's 1986 publication of a paper demonstrating that asset allocation is the dominant factor in determining the return of a portfolio, strategic asset allocation has been accepted as important, but when it comes to including...

Opinion: Leader - Another one bites the dust.
November 7, 2005... And so we bid farewell to David Blunkett, the man who managed to last all of six months in the most precarious post in government. The pensions industry has greeted the news with despair as it finds itself in the all too familiar position...

Opinion: Personal view - Is the PPF merely a wolf disguised in sheep's clothing?
November 7, 2005... On 6 April 2005 a new social security tax was imposed on UK businesses. Of course, that is not the way it was presented, but the introduction of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) did just that. From 6 April 2006, UK businesses will not only...

Opinion: Inside view - Transforming a legacy of complex operating systems.
November 7, 2005... The life and pensions industry is undergoing what many believe to be the biggest changes in its history. Depolarisation, pensions simplification, the constraints of legacy systems and a public focus on the adequacy of pension funding have...

Special Focus: DC - Contents.
November 7, 2005... There are now more open defined contribution (DC) pension plans in the UK than open defined benefit ones, marking the end of traditional paternalistic schemes in favour of making the individual master of retirement provision. There were...

Special Focus: DC - Education for the DC Generation.
November 7, 2005... When employees are turning down free money in the form of company pensions, there has to be serious misgivings about the level of financial understanding among the UK's workforce. According to a survey conducted by Hewitt Associates in May...

Special Focus: DC - Hedge funds: the benefits of controlled exposure.
November 7, 2005... Ten years ago no one outside certain sections of the financial industry knew what a hedge fund was. Today awareness is much more widespread, yet at the same time ignorance is common. Hedge funds have been described as "swarms of locusts" (by a...

Pensions and simplification update: November 2005.
November 7, 2005... Regulations: (Draft) The Occupational Pension Schemes (Exemption) Regulations 2006 Description: Regulations to ensure that occupational pension schemes with their main administration outside the EU member states, which are not registered...

People on the move: Citigroup picks a pair of presidents.
November 7, 2005... Citigroup's Global Transaction Services has appointed Neil Coxhead and Cathal O'Daly as vice-presidents, client relationship management. Coxhead joined Citigroup from the Bank of New York where he held various positions including senior...

People on the move: Protego builds up property business to triple strength.
November 7, 2005... Protego Real Estate Investors has made three senior appointments to its property management business. Graham Barker joins as director of the asset management division, Mark Adams as a specialist real estate lawyer and associate director,...

People on the move: LGIM selects Chambers.
November 7, 2005... Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has appointed Peter Chambers as chief executive. Chambers previously held positions as chief investment officer of Gartmore Investment Manage-ment and chief executive of Framlington Group. He...

People on the move: Dowsey defines role at Fidelity.
November 7, 2005... Fidelity International has appointed Mark Dowsey as an associate director in the defined contribution (DC) product development team. Dowsey joined from Watson Wyatt where he worked for five years, most recently as senior technical...

People on the move: Fox enjoys a slice of Suffolk Life.
November 7, 2005... Suffolk Life has appointed David Fox as head of interme-diary development, reporting to John Moret, director of sales and marketing. Fox's responsibilities at Suffolk Life include building relationships with independent financial advisers,...

Bank changes rules in advance of A-day.
November 14, 2005... The Bank of England pension fund has taken significant steps in preparation for A-day in April next year. Under proposed changes to the scheme, members of the Bank of England pension fund will be able to continue working at the bank after...

Kings fined for repeatedly misleading consumers.
November 14, 2005... The UK financial services watchdog has fined the Maidstone-based independent financial adviser Kings GBP60,000 for approving misleading financial promotions involving pension unlocking. The promotions were issued by an unregulated firm,...

Notts scheme wants assets back.
November 14, 2005... The GBP1.9bn Nottinghamshire County Council pension scheme is attempting to claw back assets from corporate failures by working with a US class action law firm. Peter Hurford, assistant treasurer at Nottinghamshire, said it was too early...

News: Public sector schemes exceed Britain's national debt says IEA.
November 14, 2005... The burden of public sector pensions stands at GBP817bn - greater than Britain's current national debt and equal to nearly 70% of one year's national income - according to a think-tank. A report by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA),...

News: Trustee confidence plummets.
November 14, 2005... Trustees' confidence in their ability to cope with the increasing demands of the job has taken a nosedive, according to a recent survey. The research by investment consultant Watson Wyatt showed trustees' perception of their investment...

News: Jones returns to Psolve as principal.
November 14, 2005... Psolve Asset Solutions has welcomed Glyn Jones back to the fold as principal after a four-year absence. Jones, who was previously head of specialist solutions at Psolve in 2001, will focus on structured solutions with a mandate to develop...

News in brief: Sutton goes specialist and drops Henderson.
November 14, 2005... The GBP200m London Borough of Sutton pension fund has dropped Henderson Global Investors from managing a balanced portfolio for 50% of the fund. The move follows the scheme's decision to change from a balanced to specialist structure. ...

News in brief: Centrica hires Mercer to build website.
November 14, 2005... Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, OneTel and several other energy companies, has appointed Mercer Human Resource Consulting to help develop and maintain an interactive website for its pension scheme. The site, which is built on...

News in brief: Man group wins bid for Refco's assets.
November 14, 2005... Bankrupt commodity and foreign exchange broker, Refco, has seen part of its assets purchased by Man Group. Man's winning bid at an auction held by the US Bankruptcy Court is for all of Refco's regulated commodity futures businesses in the...

News: Schroders researches DC options.
November 14, 2005... Schroders is considering a defined contribution (DC) product that aims to provide some of the individual security afforded to members of defined benefit (DB) schemes. Alan Brown, head of investment at Schroders, told PW the firm was...

News: Poor advice for low pay.
November 14, 2005... Pensions advice for the poor is on the slide as financial intermediaries continue to target the well-off, according to a government survey. According to the study, the biggest stumbling block to saving for retirement for people on lower...

News: Reporting system goes offline.
November 14, 2005... The online pension reporting system the government promised would be up and running in time for A-day suffered a setback last week when it was announced that part of the system will not be ready in time. The government said all pension...

News: Finance companies could face massive laundering fines.
November 14, 2005... The UK financial services sector faces potential fines of over GBP230m because of inadequate anti-money laundering measurers. Research from information management firm Anacomp found that 43.5% of financial services companies, which includes...

News: North Yorks tenders for custody services.
November 14, 2005... The GBP1bn North Yorkshire Council pension fund has put out to tender for global custody and related services. As well as custody, the provider will be required for accounting and performance measurement. The deadline for the tender is...

News: Swaps use gains momentum.
November 14, 2005... The use of swaps by pension funds is rising, as schemes and their sponsoring employers become more aware of the advantages and are more comfortable using them for risk management. In particular, pension scheme demand could lead to the...

News: Property sector faces lower returns says economist.
November 14, 2005... This year could be the last year of high property returns, according to an economist. Sabina Kalyan, commercial property economist at Capital Economics, said 2005 could be the last year of high returns, with capital values static between...

News: Actuarial body sends out severe property warnings.
November 14, 2005... The Actuarial Profession has issued a stern warning that people should think very carefully before investing in residential buy-to-let property within their pensions. The warning comes with less than 150 days to go to A-day, which could...

News: Threadneedle tailors DC plan.
November 14, 2005... Threadneedle Investments has launched a stakeholder product for corporate sponsors as part of a three-pronged attack on the UK institutional market. Under guidance from new head of UK institutional business, Madeline Forrester,...

News: Timms urges Europe to educate.
November 14, 2005... Europe is facing huge challenges in financially educating people to ensure they save adequately, according to pensions minister Stephen Timms. Timms said Europe must ensure people have access to financial education so that they are able to...

News: HMRC publishes GAD rates tables.
November 14, 2005... The Government Actuary's Department's (GAD) tables on factors used for calculating maximum pensions under the unsecured and alternatively secured rules from 6 April 2006, have been published by HM Revenue & Customs for consultation. For...

News: Trustee - As luck would have it.
November 14, 2005... I shall be involved in a number of investment manager selections, or beauty parades in the next few weeks; nine searches for four clients at the last count. I have a natural reluctance to change managers without good reason - improved...

News: Barclays uses profits to develop senior team.
November 14, 2005... A large global fund manager has made a string of senior appointments and management changes following high level growth in profits and assets under management. Barclays Global Investors (BGI) has appointed Malcolm Leigh as managing...

News: BAM achieves European fund success.
November 14, 2005... Britannic Asset Management's (BAM) collaboration with European fund team Barry Norris and Oliver Russ has raked in over GBP100m in the first six months of business. Jonathan Polin, sales and marketing director of BAM, said success of the...

News: Marlborough Stirling becomes Vertex by name.
November 14, 2005... Financial services software solutions and outsourcing provider, Marlborough Stirling, has been re-branded as Vertex Financial Services, following its acquisition by Vertex Data Science earlier this year. The life and pensions business unit...

News: Government fails to convey law.
November 14, 2005... The inability of the government to interpret its own pension regulations is creating major problems for the introduction of simplification next April, according to a self-invested pensions expert. John Bradley, chairman of the Association...

News: Cost of advice prohibits sales.
November 14, 2005... The availability of advice should be an acceptable feature that forms part of the suitability criteria when advising on personal pensions, theAssociation of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) said. In its response to the Financial...

Ombudsman Watch: The judge and the ombudsman.
November 14, 2005... The last few columns have strayed a little from my brief - ombudsman watch. So last week I resolved that I would return to the topic of the ombudsman. Little did I know that on 9 November the chancery division of the High Court would issue a...

Ombudsman Watch: Determination.
November 14, 2005... The High Court case decided last week featured the obviously very determined Mr Brennan and the long suffering London Regional Transport pension fund trustee. In 2003, the ombudsman determined a complaint brought by Mr B. He appealed to...

News: NAPF Notice Board.
November 14, 2005... NAPF Autumn Conference 2005 Thursday 17 November 2005, QEII Conference Centre, London Delegates at NAPF's autumn conference taking place at the QEII Conference Centre in London this Thursday, will receive hot off the press, copies...

Governance Update: Combining roles and improving awards criteria.
November 14, 2005... Regents Inns will be holding its annual general meeting next week (22 November 2005) and in RREV's report on the company it is drawing shareholders' attention to several corporate governance issues. The past year has seen substantial...

Spotlight: Brown bouncing back after balanced bang.
November 14, 2005... Survival for asset managers operating in the UK institutional space is dependent on a successful fixed income division, a fact that Schroders' head of Investment Alan Brown is acutely aware. For a firm recovering from the relentless march...

Opinion: Leader - How not to win friends and influence people.
November 14, 2005... Last week Pensions Week was finally able to report on the pension fraud case which saw the jailing of five of Britain's most extravagant pensions criminals. A small midlands-based manufacturing firm, CW Cheney & Son, saw GBP3m plundered...

Opinion: Personal View - Self-regulation guidance for defined benefit schemes.
November 14, 2005... The Pensions Regulator published a 90-page consultation document on 31 October 2005 on how it will regulate the funding of defined benefit (DB) schemes. It is good to see the regulator finally declaring its hand by describing the proposed...

Opinion: Inside view - PPF risk bands - a short cut to the sponsor's covenant?
November 14, 2005... One of the main themes of the Pension Regulator's funding regulations is the necessity for trustees to understand the financial strength of their sponsor. Trustees have several sources of sponsor strength information. At one end of the...

Insight: Generating currency alpha.
November 14, 2005... What makes the currency markets unusual is that many participants have ulterior motives for trading, other than profit. For example, pension funds hedge currency risks; corporates hedge balance sheet risk; central banks intervene for the sake...

People on the move: Abdulmalik leads Deutsche Middle East expansion.
November 14, 2005... Deutsche Bank's global fiduciary hedge fund management business, DB Absolute Return Strategies, has appointed Mohammed Abdulmalik as head of sales for the Middle East. The hire reflects Deutsche Bank'sattempt to expand its business in the...

People on the move: P3 appoints Sanders for services team.
November 14, 2005... P3 Corporate Pensions Software has hired Chris Sanders to manage implementation and services team. Sanders joined from JLT where he was senior administration consultant. He has also worked at Mercer Human Resource Con-sulting and Claybrook...

People on the move: Stewart joins SWIP as corporate bond manager.
November 14, 2005... Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has beefed up its global bonds and economics team with the appointment of Alix Stewart as corporate bond fund manager. Previously, Stewart worked at Gartmore for 11 years as a senior portfolio fund...

People on the move: Three new stock pickers best of bunch at SVM.
November 14, 2005... SVM Asset Management has hired three stock picking fund managers in a bid to boost investment performance. Hugh Cuthbert will be lead manager of SVM Continental Europe Fund, while Hector Kilpatrick will be joint manager of SVM UK Alpha...

People on the move: Ellison takes on UK sales role at SEI.
November 14, 2005... SEI Investments Europe has appointed Francis Ellison as head of UK institutional sales. Ellison, who will report to Patrick Disney, head of SEI's global institutional business, will be responsible for leading SEI Europe's UK sales team and...

News: IBM plans for A-day with flexible benefits.
November 21, 2005... One of UK's largest companies, IBM, is setting up a flexible benefits package in January 2006. The flexible benefits package, called You*, will cover a range of benefits including pensions, holiday entitlement, sick pay, life insurance,...

News: Trades Union Congress rates forthcoming Turner report wth six point checklist.
November 21, 2005... Adair Turner's Pensions Commission report will have failed in its objectives if it recommends raising the retirement age, introducing compulsion and doesn't put an end to the second class treatment of women, the Trades Union Congress (TUC)...

News: Lib Dems voice concerns over FAS.
November 21, 2005... The Liberal Democrats have tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) expressing concerns over the inadequacy of the government's Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) to offer protection to members of collapsed pension funds. Alexander Danny, shadow...