October 2018

05Oct

UK. Pension fund manager accused of stealing £1m to buy house

A pension fund manager at one of the richest authorities in the UK stole almost £1m from a council employee retirement pot to buy a new house and car, a court has heard today (4 October). Ian Woodall, 47, tricked colleagues into signing off payments from the £1bn pension fund by disguising them as investments, jurors heard. Woodall allegedly siphoned off £924,841 from Westminster City Council, between 2009 and 2012, while employed as the pension fund manager. He is said to have...

October 5, 2018
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02Oct

UK. The longevity dividend: How to make the most of our ageing society

It is well known that the UK is ageing. In 1976, only 14 per cent of the population was aged over 65, today it is 18 per cent, and in 2036 it is estimated to be 25 per cent. Over the same period, the median age is expected to rise from 34 to 43. The economic implications are widely seen as dismal. Fewer workers will lead to falling GDP growth, while rising pensions and medical costs will push government debt ever...

October 2, 2018
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01Oct

UK. Pension annual allowance penalties leap to £517m

Record 16,590 people paying penalty on 2016-17 pension contributions The tax take from individuals paying a tax penalty for breaching the £40,000 annual allowance hit £517m ($673m, €580m) in the 2016-17 financial year ­– a huge increase from £143m in the previous year. The number of taxpayers reporting this through their tax returns reached 16,590, up from 5,430 in 2015-16. Meanwhile, the yield from those breaking the lifetime allowance (LTA) in 2016-17 reached £102m, involving 2,120 taxpayers, up from £66m and 1,180...

October 1, 2018
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September 2018

27Sep

UK. Pension bosses banned for 34 years after abusing members’ funds

Four directors of companies that formed part of a group involved in the transfer of millions of pounds of pensions have been banned for a total of 34 years. Karl Dunlop, Stuart Grehan and Ian Dunsford previously accepted disqualification undertakings for their management roles within the group of companies involved in the transfer of pension funds. Stuart Grehan, Director of Sycamore Crown Ltd and also known as Stuart Chapman-Clark, agreed to a 9-year voluntary ban as a result of false and...

September 27, 2018
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25Sep

Investment Consultants Market Investigation. Provisional Decision report

By CMA Overview of our provisional decision Investment consultancy and fiduciary management services influence the pension outcomes for millions of people. It is vital that competition within these markets works well. Both investment consultancy and fiduciary management are useful services for many pension schemes, helping them to manage their investments well on behalf of scheme members. We have provisionally found that there is an adverse effect on competition and that material customer detriment may be expected to result from it in both the...

September 25, 2018
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25Sep

UK. Mercer claims CMA report used “flawed data”

Mercer has accused the Competition and Markets Authority of using incorrect data and unrepresentative samples in its recent Investment Consultants Market Investigation. This probe look at consultants offering investment and fiduciary management services to the £1.6tn pension fund industry. But Mercer’s UK chief executive Fiona Dunsire claims the errors in this data analysis “cast doubt on the credibility of key aspects” of the CMA’s provisional decision report, published in the July this year. Read more @corporate adviser Read the CMA's provisonal report here

September 25, 2018
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25Sep

UK. Pensions regulator fines more than triple in a year

The value of fines issued by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has more than tripled in a year, reaching £42m in 2017/18. This value, which is made up of fixed and escalating penalty notices, compares to £12.6m in the previous year, according to information published by TPR. A fixed penalty notice of £400 is issued to an employer for failure to comply with a statutory notice or some specific employer duties. An escalating penalty notice varies between £50 and £10,000 a day depending...

September 25, 2018
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24Sep

UK. Small firms exposed to pension fund risks, warns Goldman Sachs

The funding positions of company pension pots improved last year but smaller firms are not managing their risk exposures well, according to Goldman Sachs. The US investment bank’s annual survey of FTSE 350 pension schemes found many were “in the best position they have been in for a long time” after funding levels improved. However, it cautioned smaller schemes demonstrated more volatile funding outcomes due to “a less robust” approach to risk management. Goldman Sachs found the very smallest schemes were...

September 24, 2018
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20Sep

UK. Pension funds shifting towards more complex investment portfolios

The majority of institutional investors like pension funds are increasing overhauling their portfolios in search of greater returns, with two-thirds having added at least one new asset class over the last three years. That is according to a global study of investors with around £6trn in assets by consultancy firm bfinance, which finds that private debt, infrastructure and real estate are among the most popular new additions to portfolios. Almost half of investors have increased their allocations to private markets, although...

September 20, 2018
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20Sep

UK. Industry demands mandatory pension dashboard

More than 20 pension providers and administrators are demanding ‘a firm stance on compulsion’ from the government on the pension dashboard after coming together to discuss the project. In the meeting hosted yesterday (18 September) by fintech provider Origo, providers agreed the government will need to legislate to "ensure the whole industry is fully compelled to participate". The plan behind the pension dashboard, which is due to launch in 2019, is to create the technology to allow savers to see all...

September 20, 2018
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