Cardano to advise BAA's DB trustees
IPE.com 13 January 2010 15:45:
UK – Trustees of the £2bn (€2.2bn) BAA defined benefit pension scheme have appointed Cardano to act as its investment advisers.
The London-based consultancy will advise on all aspects of the DB plan’s investment arrangements, including asset allocation, liability hedging and manager selection, though this is not a fiduciary mandate, officials confirmed.
In 2009, UK airports operator BBA admitted during its financial results presentation that almost half of its first-half £575m operating loss had been caused by its defined benefit pension fund.
BAA at the time said the actuarial valuation to 30 June 2009 showed a deficit of £249.8m, and claimed it was created largely by a rise in the forward inflation curve as this in turn increased scheme liabilities.
So commenting on the appointment today, Gordon Dewar, chairman of the BAA Trustees stressed: “We chose Cardano because we liked their focus on the big picture. We need to manage our funding level and we were impressed with Cardano’s insights into how we could improve and stabilise our funding position."
He continued: "We are looking to achieve good investment returns, but also to control the risks relative to our liabilities. We believe that Cardano are well-placed to help us with this, given their active investment views and original approach.”
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Author: Julie Henderson
