UK Comment – Page 3
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: A landmark moment for British pensions
What is it the British pension savers want, and until now have been denied in private sector pensions?
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Opinion PiecesGuest viewpoint: LDI regulation should not ignore private asset solutions
In the aftermath of the liability-driven investing (LDI) crisis, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) in the UK drew up guidelines for pension funds to improve the resilience of LDI strategies. These guidelines primarily aim to support the creation of liquidity buffers so that pension funds can withstand yield shocks. To that end, the guidelines advise pension funds to conduct stress tests and identify suitable collateral with respect to both leveraged and unleveraged LDI strategies using yield-shock scenarios.
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Opinion PiecesFull steam ahead for UK de-risking market
This year is set to be the largest yet for the UK defined benefit (DB) pensions de-risking market, with at least £40bn (€45.8bn) in bulk annuity transactions and £20bn in longevity hedges expected to be completed, according to WTW’s latest de-risking report.
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Opinion PiecesEuropean authorities must focus on derivatives risk
Opinions may differ on whether Brexit has had a positive or negative impact on either of the parties involved. However, it could be argued that an idiosyncratic event such as the liquidity crisis that took place in the United Kingdom at the end of September could have been averted, had the country been part of the bloc. Investors lost confidence in the UK government, now more isolated than before Brexit, and its ability to maintain its fiscal balance, after the announcement of a massive fiscal spending plan at the end of September. That sent yields on UK Gilts soaring and led to a spiralling lack of liquidity, as pension funds rushed to post collateral on their interest-rate derivative positions.
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Opinion PiecesGuest viewpoint: The UK pensions sector should be more aggressive on consolidation
UK pension assets across both defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) funds are too fragmented, and our schemes, even the biggest, are sub-scale. Consolidation is not the answer to everything, but it is a big part of the solution.
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Opinion PiecesLessons on LDI: learn from the Dutch cultural revolution
Around 20 years ago, UK occupational pension liabilities underwent a structural change. With assets weighted towards UK equities, still cashflow positive and open to new members and future accrual, liabilities were not too greatly discussed.
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Opinion PiecesAn uncertain outlook for UK pension journey plans
Following the Bank of England’s (BoE) emergency intervention announced on 28 September to stem the sell-off of long-dated UK government bonds, UK defined benefit (DB) pension funds were kept busy, as falling Gilt prices over the past weeks caused mark-to-market losses in liability-driven investment (LDI) strategies.
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Consolidation in UK pensions market – what are the options?
Will there be an increase in pension scheme consolidation in the UK market and will it lead to increased investment in alternative ESG assets? Consolidation could provide the collateral to invest in greater ESG assets.
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Opinion PiecesTrustees must assess impact of rate hikes
The Bank of England (BoE) has hiked its policy rate by 50bps to 2.25%, prioritising the fight against inflation over support for growth in its domestic economy. This interest rate increase has hit levels not seen since the end of 2008 but in line with a majority of economists’ consensus.
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: New UK government taskforce signals importance of ESG
There has been substantial progress in climate-related and governance issues, but social factors, have not always received as much attention.
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: How to fix the three ‘mega-gaps’ facing the UK economy
Planting the seeds of long-term growth now by focusing on age, carbon and infrastructure is how we can ensure our economy gets back on track
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Opinion PiecesIlliquid assets could bring cost burden
Last month the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) closed its consultation on ‘Facilitating investment in illiquid assets’, which sought views on policy proposals and draft regulations designed to improve the accessibility of illiquid assets for defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Modelling a longevity shock – A £1bn scheme would need to find £120m
By Howard Kearns, longevity pricing director at Insight Investment
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Opinion PiecesUK's pension dashboard project should prioritise accuracy over simplification
The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consultation on the draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022 closed last month. The DWP now aims to lay the regulations before parliament for debate later in the year.
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Opinion PiecesEditor's letter: Could CDC provide a solution to the pension income problem?
This month sees the close of a consultation in the UK on a new code of practice for authorisation and supervision of collective defined contribution (CDC) pensions schemes. Trustees will be able to apply to set one up from August this year.
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Unlocking the UK’s entrepreneurial spirit
Unlocking pension funding and changing mindsets can catalyse the true potential of successful small businesses, says Chris Hulatt, co-founder of Octopus Group
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Master trust consolidation set to drive value for money
Bigger is not always better, but as the trend of wider consolidation matures, bigger should represent a better deal for members
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Opinion PiecesPolicy underpins action
Politicians in a variety of different places understandably want to harness the capital of institutional investors. Dutch and UK politicians in particular have made no secret of their desire for local pension funds to invest for domestic ends.
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Opinion PiecesESG: progress but still much road to travel
Good things are happening in the land of ESG. Aspects of the European Commission’s sustainable finance action plan regulation have certainly been frustrating, but the sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR), for example, does look like it could end up having a beneficial effect, even though there are still problems associated with it and the effect is perhaps not the one that was envisaged for the SFDR.
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