At the time of writing this editorial, a raft of advisers were calling for customers to buy conventional annuities sooner rather than later, if they are able to, following continued falls in gilt yields as investors snapped up ‘safe’ assets.

I was of the opinion that April was the cruellest month, but things would appear to be different this year.

Brooks Macdonald has gained a sixth UK office after buying law firm Clarke Willmott’s investment management business for a reported £6m.

Brooks Macdonald Asset Management (BMAM) will take over the Taunton office, along with five investment managers and three support staff from Clarke Willmott, from October 31.

Suffolk Life bucks trend by reducing in specie transfer times, although third-party bottlenecks continue to frustrate providers

Suffolk Life has reduced its in specie transfer times by almost 50% since 2007, according to figures shown exclusively to Pensions Management.

Pensions Management’s research into in specie transfers has highlighted continuing poor practice, particularly with commercial property transfers.

Administrators at self-invested personal pension (Sipp) providers confided to PM that insurer providers in particular were dragging their heels.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has set out its strategy for auto-enrolment by becoming the first client of Legal & General’s (L&G) mastertrust.

The supermarket chain will enrol around 25,000 staff into the scheme in November next year, when it will become one of the first companies impacted by the legislation.

Schemes have pledged £100m to M&G’s first-of-its-type social housing fund, despite changes in the law making rent increases less reliable.

The venture rolled out in November last year, offering yields based on rents from subsidised housing, which have traditionally risen by a guaranteed retail price index (RPI) inflation plus 0.5% each year, making them a potentially appealing fixed income proposition.

Lehmans subsidiaries have launched an audacious bid to stop trustees of the defunct investment bank’s UK pension scheme suing them for contributions.

The Pensions Regulator successfully slapped six companies with a Financial Support Direction (FSD) – requiring them to pay £150m into the scheme – last September, after its independent Determinations Panel (DP) ruled they were liable.

Institutional investors have reduced allocation in equities by 10% over five years in a bid to derisk, an Investment Management Association (IMA) survey has revealed.

Investment in the asset class has slumped from 48% in 2006/2007 to 38% in 2010/2011, as a result of investors favouring fixed income and alternatives.

UK defined benefit (DB) schemes lost more than £34bn from their equity portfolios last month – 4% of their total value – as world markets nosedived.

The world’s major stock markets reacted to ongoing fears of widespread government debt default in the US and across the eurozone by losing an average of around 8.5% during the first week in August.

A 20% emerging market allocation, split evenly between equities and bonds, gives schemes the optimum opportunity to take returns and minimise extra risk, research claims.

A JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) report compares predicted returns from different model portfolios with a measure called ‘conditional value at risk’ (CVAR).

Funds designed to mitigate falling annuity rates are only offering 60% protection, according to the UK’s largest asset manager.

The UK fixed income-invested vehicles are typically used by members approaching the point at which they plan to buy an annuity.

MGM Advantage has hit 130% of its target sales for its flexible income annuity less than six months after it launched.

The product, the sales of which now make up a quarter of MGM’s investment-backed annuity sales, specialises in providing variable income levels at different stages of retirement and providing the opportunity for growth, using a limited number of investment options.

Have you heard?...

Things you didn’t know about people in the industry and what they get up to

The Treasury Committee’s report into the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) has recommended a 12-month delay, moving the implementation of the regulations to January 2014.

The Financial Services Authority has already responded, saying it notes the report’s recommendation to delay, but remains committed to the January 2013 deadline. “There is clear evidence that the industry is well advanced in its preparations, with 49% of IFAs already qualified and at least 82% expecting to remain as retail investment advisers,” the watchdog added.

Friends Life will split its operations between an open and closed book of business, following the release of its half-year results.

LV has backed Pensions Management’s campaign to get the Treasury to reconsider the Money Advice Service.

Following on from PM’s editorials on the website, set up by the Treasury and paid for by the Financial Services bill, LV’s life and pensions managing director Richard Rowney said the decision not to include enhanced annuities was wrong.

Nearly 500 UK scheme members could be forced to repay long-term loans as soon as this autumn, if the High Court establishes their schemes are void.

Lord McFall, who has long awaited improvement in defined contribution pensions has flagged up seven key areas for urgent change.

The pensions minister Steve Webb has on numerous occasions called auto-enrolment a ‘social revolution in pensions’. That’s not only a really good way of describing what we are facing, but also emphasises the magnitude of what we are dealing with. Auto-enrolment will radically change workplace pension savings: it is almost certainly the biggest change many employers will have seen to their benefits systems.

The Pensions Regulator has heralded a further crackdown on risk transfer deals with the potential to cost pensioners retirement income.

The latest recruits to the Determinations Panel (DP) will boost the level of independence from the Pensions Regulator, according to industry commentators.

 Though many believe reports of gold-plated public sector pensions, the reality is low retirement income and a potential welfare disaster for the whole UK workforce

I was reading in the paper the other day about a bloke in Sweden, a Mr Richard Handl, who has found himself in a bit of bother with the authorities for having had a go at splitting the atom in his kitchen. Apparently nuclear physics has always been a bit of a hobby of Mr Handl’s, one that over time led him to having a stab at cooking up a nuclear reaction on the hob in his flat.

The practical implications of bribery legislation could easily affect trustees who do not put the appropriate policies in place. Jason Shaw also discusses ill-health determinations

Whether Dilnot’s plans are implemented or not, people due to enter residential care must seek and be given the correct advice to ensure their long-term needs can be met

In an alternative life Richard Rowney would be travelling the world exploring energy fields. Here, he tells Pensions Management he is enjoying the many challenges life and pensions has to offer

Claire Menni is determined to help people access the best financial advice available, and an NBA award suggests she is on the way to delivering her clients an industry-leading service

There is concern about the retail distribution review (RDR) and its impact on annuities. Will consumers be forced to turn to online aggregator sites – and what are the dangers?

With a rocky economic landscape and ever-increasing longevity to contend, annuities have had a tough year. But the clouds could finally be clearing

To quote former Pensions Management reporter Nick Reeve, choosing your annuity is a lot like choosing a bottle of wine. If you can tell your Claret from your Beaujolais, choosing your desired vino is relatively easy. However, if you are less informed, and vaguely recognise some of the brand names but have no clue as to the grape, how many years it should remain in the bottle and whether it will suit your palate, you could end up with the wrong plonk.

Third way products can be complicated, but with no such thing as the average retiree, flexible annuities may prove pivotal to the market’s future

Ruston Smith has been elected as the next chairman of the Retirement Policy Council (RPC) of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).

RCM, part of Allianz Global Investors, has appointed Marissa Blankenship as sustainability research analyst.

Blankenship joins RCM’s global sustainability research team, which is led by Bozena Jankowska, and her role will focus on conducting global sustainability research on equities.

Creative Benefits has opened a Manchester office as part of its business expansion plans.

Established in 2007, the company works with British small and medium-sized businesses, including Cath Kidston, English National Ballet, Toyota Tsusho UK and Babel Media, to develop and maintain cost-effective employee benefits and communications.