UK - The group of 30 pension funds threatening to sue Henderson Global Investors over the management of its PFI Secondary Fund II LP are to fund their own legal costs.
 
Jonathan Bull, executive director at the Occupational Pensions Defence Union (Opdu), said he had not been contacted by any of the parties to the action, even though some of them are Opdu clients.
 
He said: "I have not been contacted about using 'third-party provider pursuits costs' or the purchase of 'after the event' insurance.

"People can come to us after they have started legal proceedings, but not after starting in court. None has approached us to date."
 
The parties to the action include a number of major funds, such as British Steel (Corus), Railpen, BBC, B&CE, BAE Systems, Bupa, Fenner, Magnox, Nestle, Rothschild, Smurfit Kappa, Scottish & Southern Electricity and Tesco.
 
Local authority schemes such as South Tyneside, City of Edinburgh and Kent County Council and investors such as Trinity College Cambridge endowment fund and Oxford Investment Partners are also involved.

Advisers that are party to the action include Towers Watson, Aon Hewitt and Cardano.
 
The group was expected to issue legal proceedings against Henderson at the end of September, but one of the pension fund managers, who declined to be named, said the delay was due to the logistics of dealing with so many parties and some schemes having to report back to their sponsors.
 
Another source close to the pension funds said they were determined to pursue the matter in court if an out-of-court settlement was not reached, adding: "I think Henderson realises it is unprecedented to have such a large group of pension funds and their advisers so united over an issue and that the number of parties involved has made the legal costs affordable."
 

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