February 2023
15Feb

Total U.K. pension fund surplus, funding ratio decrease slightly in January

The aggregate surplus of U.K. defined benefit funds covered by the PPF 7800 index decreased slightly in January, by 0.6% to £374.4 billion ($463.4 billion). The surplus more than doubled for the year ended Jan. 31, from £146.4 billion, according to a Tuesday update by the Pension Protection Fund, London. The PPF is the lifeboat fund for pension funds of U.K. insolvent companies. The aggregate funding ratio was 134.8% as of Jan. 31, compared with 136.5% as of Dec. 31. The...

February 15, 2023
News,
Read more...
14Feb

UK. Mary Starks Leads Review of Pensions Regulator

The Department for Work and Pensions has announced the appointment of Mary Starks to lead a review of The Pensions Regulator (TPR). This is in line with the expectation that public bodies are reviewed each Parliament. The Minister for Pensions has asked Starks to aim to deliver the report in May 2023. Stark’s previous experience includes serving as executive member of the Board and Director of Competition and Chief Economist at the Financial Conduct Authority. She has also served as Executive...

February 14, 2023
News,
Read more...
13Feb

UK. FCA places restrictions on IFA over misappropriation of client funds

The Financial Conduct Authority has placed a number of restrictions on an independent advice firm over concerns its sole director may have misappropriated 1 5mn of a client s funds Campbell & Associates, based in West Wellow, Romsey, had the restrictions imposed on it last week (February 9), and is now prevented from carrying out any regulated activity and cannot reduce the value of its assets without the FCA’s consent. Lisa Maureen Campbell is listed as the sole active director of...

February 13, 2023
News,
Read more...
08Feb

UK. New Funding Code could affect how pension schemes are run

UK pension schemes are expecting the Defined Benefit (DB) Funding Code, currently in consultation, to affect the way they are run in the future, a recent poll by Aon has found. At a recent Aon webinar on the funding code consultation, almost 250 attendees were asked how material they thought the new funding regime would be to the way their schemes are run, with 42% of respondents indicating that they thought it would have either a moderate or a significant...

February 8, 2023
News, , ,
Read more...
08Feb

UK. Multiple Pensions Dashboards Already a Reality Says Moneyhub in FCA and PDP Consultation Response

Moneyhub, the award-winning Open Data platform and alpha partner to the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has highlighted the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) support for multiple pensions dashboards saying this is already a reality, in its response to the FCA and PDP’s consultations. Moneyhub has also called for a greater emphasis on taking action as part of its response. In its response to the consultations ahead of the 16th February deadline, Moneyhub welcomed the FCA’s and PDP’s proposals, focusing in particular on...

February 8, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
07Feb

U.K. Regulators Are Urged to Address Pension Risks After Last Year’s Crisis

British regulators failed to properly monitor the risks created by the derivatives-based investment strategy that upended the U.K.’s pension sector last year, an investment approach that poses a continuing risk to companies if changes aren’t made, according to a U.K. legislative panel. Liability-driven investments, known as LDIs, invest in derivatives that are tied to U.K. government bonds known as gilts. They help pensions match long-term liabilities they have to retirees with less capital than they would need had they owned...

February 7, 2023
News, , ,
Read more...
02Feb

U.K. Department of Work and Pensions launches collective defined contribution consultation

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a public consultation on a policy framework for broadening collective defined contribution (CDC) provision in pension schemes. The consultation was launched to get views from the public on policy proposals for broadening CDC provision beyond single or connected employer schemes, to accommodate multi-employer schemes. It has also asked for opinions on the role of CDC in decumulation, including how products of this kind might work in practice, and whether there is a significant...

February 2, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
01Feb

Enhancing Investors’ Trust

By CFA Institute Investor Trust Study Investors must have confidence in the financial system overall, and trust is especially important for investment management, since client outcomes manifest only over a future horizon. Industry leaders must understand the drivers of investor trust so they can deliver the most value. In the 2022 CFA Institute Investor Trust Study, the fifth in our biennial series, we found that trust levels in financial services among retail and institutional investors have increased significantly since 2020....

February 1, 2023
Books, Books, Investment, ,
Read more...

January 2023
31Jan

Push into illiquid assets exposes UK pension savers to higher fees

The UK government will relax rules shielding tens of millions of UK retirement savers from high charges as it aims to channel billions of pounds of pension fund cash into longer-term investments such as start-ups and infrastructure. The government on Monday confirmed plans to exempt performance fees from an annual 0.75 per cent cap on annual charges that can be levied on auto-enrolled pension savers. The cap has long been seen by the industry as a barrier for many “defined...

January 31, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
31Jan

UK. Government explores CDC decumulation schemes

The government published a consultation on introducing a route to CDC for multi-employer schemes and master trusts on January 30, after legislation creating these schemes was introduced in 2022. Under these arrangements, employers and employees pay a fixed rate of contributions, collected in a manner similar to DC schemes. Benefits are paid with a target in mind, similar to defined benefit schemes, but with the prospect of variable increases — and the possibility of decreases. However, besides interest in whole-life CDC schemes...

January 31, 2023
News, ,
Read more...