FTSE350 DB schemes do not invest in line with Mansion House agenda
Mercer analysis of FTSE350 pension funds shows an aggregate surplus of £66bn at the end of March 2024
Italian pension funds face competition on private assets investments
Current rules and lack of political support can hinder pension funds’ plans to increase private markets commitments
Shell calls on investors to reject climate resolution from European pension funds
Follow This calls on responsible investors to ‘side with their peers’ instead of the board of Shell
Huge amount of work left for schemes ahead of pension dashboards launch
LCP’s survey found that only 39% of its webinar attendees had prepared pensions dashboard ‘project plan’
European financial market authorities set priorities for macro-prudential approach
Austrian FMA, Italian CONSOB, Spanish CNMV and French AMF have identified five key priorities
Publica sets up bespoke ESG benchmarks for EM government bonds
It worked with 17 asset managers on guidelines intended to increase transparency on ESG for investments in corporate loans, infrastructure, and real estate mortgages
FRR nets 9.68% in 2023 as return asset boost brings H2 benefits
Reserve fund also announces that CIO Salwa Boussoukaya-Nasr has been appointed to executive board
TPR’s Statement of Strategy will be challenging and costly for UK schemes
Completing the template as proposed will create a lot of extra work and could add 20% to scheme valuation costs
Dutch pension funds cannot reduce risk without limits, says regulator
Many Dutch schemes plan to dial down investment risk to protect their funding ratios in the run-up to the pension transition
Clean Energy Financing Ratio set to be key theme this AGM season
MSCI found that nearly 60% of listed companies are disclosing their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, an increase of 16 percentage points in two years
Germany’s FDP proposes reworking pension reform with flexible retirement age
Comments made by Christian Dürr, head of the liberal party’s parliamentary group, add a further source of attrition on pension policy among coalition partners
Tangen’s hopes dashed for SWF’s timely private equity debut
Norwegian government refuses to allow NBIM to add unlisted equity to GPFG’s asset mix for now, but moves to gather more information on the idea
Credit Suisse Pensionskasse adjusts plans following UBS integration
Credit Suisse’s scheme will close down 1e pension plans
WTW to launch private equity LTAF with £450m of commitments
WTW is targeting £2bn for its new open ended fund
Grant Thornton Pensions Fund appoints Cardano as fiduciary manager
Cardano will provide services including investment advice, investment management, and risk management for the £250m scheme
Alecta hires Karin Cederbaum as new legal chief
Swedish occupational pensions heavyweight picks new general counsel with legal leadership experience from Skandia and Swedbank
Italian pension schemes reap benefits of banks’ equity investments
The Bank of Italy has distributed dividends to shareholders, including pension funds, for a total amount of €340m
Robeco to start with Asia for new climate transition investing strategies
Dutch asset manager says it is introducing investing in transition assets in public markets
Industry provides further backing for PPF endgame role
The consultation on DB surplus extraction and the public sector consolidator operated by PPF closes on 19 April
Italy economy minister calls for institutional fund of funds
Structural changes are necessary to reduce the fragmentation of the investments in Italy, says finance ministry’s undersecretary Federico Freni
International Corporate Governance Network hires new CEO
Move follows CEO Kerrie Waring’s decision to step down after 10 years leading the organisation
BaFin backs introduction of climate transition label for financial products
Supervisory official was speaking at a sustainable investing event in the German parliament
Germany proposes Ukraine reconstruction fund with institutional investor backing
The fund would be open to institutional investors to finance large-scale projects in key sectors in Ukraine
Finnish pension fund CEO says defence must become more investable
With Russia’s war causing the EU to strengthen its defence industry, the sector represents an investment opportunity that must now be harnessed, argues Löyttyniemi
First quarter sees uptick in sustainability bonds
Market represents a lower proportion of wider bond markets, despite recent growth in issuance
Irish auto-enrolment deadline branded ‘ambitious’
Irish government is targeting 1 January 2025 as a deadline for introduction of auto-enrolment
UK regulator paves way for return of client-funded investment research
FCA consults on allowing asset managers to bundle payments again, with ‘guardrails’
Dutch pension funds made 9.5% return on average in 2023
Smaller funds did comparatively better than large funds
Alecta adds three independents to board, keeps ‘interim’ chair for now
Struggling Swedish pensions giant announces new board line-up for election at 25 April board meeting
People moves: LGIM names deputy head of Europe for institutional [updated]
LGIM, Eurosif, bfinance, IFoA, Cartwright
Lucite International Pension Fund in £130m buy-in with Just Group
The transaction secures the benefits of 438 uninsured members, including 156 pensioners and dependants and 282 deferred members
German Parliament to debate reform of class action law
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has argued that the reform bill is urgent to avoid halting cases brought before the higher regional courts
Swiss corporate pension funds reviewing strategic allocations, says WTW
Re-emerging inflation, progressing de-globalisation, and geopolitical tensions weight on decisions to review investments
DWS avoids using the term 'impact' for its investment products
DWS will continue to consider ’engagement’ as an important tool when discussing sustainability and ESG issues
Sweden’s AP4 eyes biomaterials investment following green analysis
Buffer fund says still focused on wind and solar power, but has also identified ‘interesting areas to monitor going forward’
German pension dashboard developers discuss next steps after portal development ‘achievement’
The portal had been in development for almost 20 years
AP3 CEO wary of social media manipulation in election year
Staffan Hansén gets up close to US forestry asset while staying aware of 2024’s potential for global political change
Aviva launches streamlined bulk purchase annuity service for smaller schemes
The service supports market access for schemes with assets below £100m
Swiss APK to review investment strategy, sustainability approach
The scheme plans to cover further asset classes with existing sustainability strategy
CEPB to back clean energy financing metric requests at bank AGMs
The pension fund’s decision comes at a time when the climate ambitions of the banking sector have been deemed insufficiently ambitious
UK launches climate transition plan guidance for asset owners
Transition Plan Taskforce releases 15 documents, including final advice for finance sector and guidance on climate adaptation and nature
Full self-serve online retirement service provided for UK DB plan
Provider to BT Pension Scheme says service will free up valuable administrator time
Swiss plan liquidates Asia equity mandate as it cuts asset management costs
Pension fund for the Coop group reinvests liquidity in existing global passive equity mandate
Mansion House Compact: Spotlight on Phoenix
Sam Tufts, head of strategy and solutions in asset management team at Phoenix, spoke to IPE about the group’s plan to extend its private markets experience for DC
EU sustainable finance advisers unveil capital flows monitoring proposal
Time is seen as ripe for tracking extent to which capital flows are actually being redirected towards sustainable investments
German government kicks off talks with social partners for longer working life
‘Arbeit & Rente’ dialogue process will take place until the end of the summer
Asset owner project for SDGs expands to private markets
Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform launches a template to help assess impact of unlisted portfolios
Grant Thornton fined for below par audit of UK local authority pension fund
Failures included obtaining insufficient evidence that the value of investments was materially accurate
Irish government publishes bill paving way for pension auto-enrolment
The bill will be brought before the Oireachtas immediately after the Easter Recess
AP7’s Såfa lifecycle model ripe for redesign, official report concludes
Firm says phasing out risk means high cost in terms of lower pensions