Latest – Page 257

  • News

    Scheme costs drop 4.7% as buyouts increase

    2009-01-28T15:10:00Z

    [16:10 CET 28-01] UK – Pension scheme expenditure on pension benefits fell by 4.7% in 2007, the first significant decrease since 1984, and a move which the Office of National Statistics (ONS) attributes to an increase in pension buyouts.

  • News

    One in four plans up mortality assumptions

    2009-01-27T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 27-01] UK – More than a quarter of UK pension schemes are planning to switch to a long cohort mortality projection for their mortality assumptions, potentially increasing life expectancy by almost two years, suggests research from Mercer.

  • News

    Progress to sell property for unlisted strategy (UPDATED)

    2009-01-27T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CET 17-01 NETHERLANDS - The Dutch pension fund of food giant Unilever, will sell its entire Dutch direct property portfolio and switch its real estate investment strategy to unlisted international real estate funds.

  • News

    West Sussex reappoints UBS to multi-asset role

    2009-01-27T15:00:00Z

    [16:00 CET 27-01] UK – West Sussex County Council has reappointed UBS Asset Management to run an active, balanced multi-asset mandate for its local government pension scheme (LGPS).

  • News

    Pensioner-only focus to drive 2009 buyouts

    2009-01-27T14:15:00Z

    [15:15 CET 27-01] UK – The buyout market in 2009 is expected to rise by another £8bn (€8.55bn), similar to 2008, though the focus is likely to be on pensioner-only transactions, according to Lane Clark and Peacock (LCP).

  • News

    Talking Point: The future of DB schemes

    2009-01-26T15:45:00Z

    TALKING POINT – Research from the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) - suggesting 52%, or 1,000, open defined benefit (DB) schemes could close as a result of the impact of the economic crisis - has raised a debate on whether DB schemes can be saved.

  • News

    Dorset adds £30m to internal UK equity manager

    2009-01-26T15:20:00Z

    [16:20 CET 26-01] UK – Dorset County Council Pension Fund has been advised to increase the assets run by its internal UK equity manager by £30m (€32m), to pull its overall UK equities portfolio back towards the strategic target allocation.

  • News

    2008 volatility hits more Finnish funds

    2009-01-23T15:20:00Z

    [16:20 CET 23-01] FINLAND – Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company has reported a €1.2bn fall in the value of its assets in 2008, according to preliminary figures while Eläke-Fennia saw a negative return of 12% and VER suffered further to lose 15% last year.

  • News

    1,000 open DB plans could switch to DC [updated]

    2009-01-23T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 23-01] UK – More than 50% of open defined benefit (DB) pension schemes could close to new members as a result of the economic crisis, claims new research by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).

  • News

    Pensions funds opt to raise TRS collateral

    2009-01-22T11:00:00Z

    [12:00 CET 22-01] EUROPE – Pensions funds are likely to be paying slightly higher for passive investments since the collapse of Lehman Brothers if using synthethic replication, but are choosing to do by over-collateralising their total return swaps, according to officials at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

  • News

    AP7 mulls more alpha centres

    2009-01-21T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CET 21-01] SWEDEN – The SEK74bn (€6.9bn) Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden (AP7) is planning to review its pure alpha investments to see if it can add more of its ‘alpha centres’.

  • News

    PPM scheme mulls swaps and eurobonds (amended)

    2009-01-20T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 20-01] SWEDEN – The Swedish Premium Pension Authority (PPM) is looking at investing in swaps and eurobonds to restock its buffers, according to its head of financial analyses, Sara Bergström.

  • News

    Merseyside awards equity roles and moves fixed income

    2009-01-19T15:55:00Z

    [16:55 CET 19-01] UK – Merseyside Pension Fund has appointed four new investment managers to run a third of the £3.7bn (€4.1bn) scheme's allocation to UK equities, ahead of plans to start a new search for active fixed income managers.

  • News

    IBEC criticised over pension reform plans

    2009-01-16T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 16-01] IRELAND – The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) has been criticised for recommending new public sector workers should be offered entrance to a defined contribution (DC) scheme with a state guarantee of certain minimum investment returns instead of the existing define benefit (DB) schemes.

  • News

    Merseyside invests in fundamental index fund

    2009-01-15T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 15-01] UK – The £4.26bn (€4.8bn) Merseyside local authority pension fund is provided half of the funding for a new enhanced indexation-type fund launched by Nomura Asset Management.

  • News

    PensCorp to deliver Leyland DAF buyout

    2009-01-13T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 13-01] UK – The £230m (€253m) pension fund of the former UK commercial vehicle manufacturer Leyland DAF has tapped Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) to buyout its pension liabilities.

  • More equity volatility predicted
    News

    More equity volatility predicted

    2009-01-12T13:00:00Z

    [14:00 CET 12-01] GLOBAL – Equity volatility remains high in 2009, while real yields on government securities are likely to remain low, according to a global fund manager survey by consultancy firm Watson Wyatt.

  • NBIM picks London as real estate base
    News

    NBIM picks London as real estate base

    2009-01-09T12:56:00Z

    [16:20 CET 09-01] NORWAY/UK – Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) has increased the office space of its London branch to cope with an increase in new employees and to act as a base for the organisation's real estate investment team.

  • Institutions to exit bonds for stocks - BlackRock CEO
    News

    Institutions to exit bonds for stocks - BlackRock CEO

    2009-01-09T12:53:00Z

    [15:00 CET 09-01] GLOBAL - Institutional investors are set to exit fixed income and move into equities, reckons BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink.

  • BT fund 'retains stock lending ban'
    News

    BT fund 'retains stock lending ban'

    2009-01-08T15:19:00Z

    [16:30 CET 08-01] UK - The £39.7bn (€44bn) BT Pension Scheme plans to keep in place a ban on stock lending - despite the lifting of an official ban on the practice, according to reports.