The perceived impotence of the Pensions Regulator could soon be displaced if the DWP’s plan to alter its powers over contribution notices comes into action

Pensions minister Mike O’Brien has come out in support of transferring small pots of retirement savings into personal accounts, though he made clear this will not be allowed when they are first implemented.

The bitter battle between Ineos and Unite continues to escalate, with up to 1,200 workers preparing to strike at the firm’s oil refinery in Scotland and a war of words being exchanged between the two parties.

It is not acceptable for this dispute to go unresolved and inconvenience Scottish people and business. To that end, ministers have invited Stewart Ritchie, president of the Faculty of Actuaries, to carry out a study to clarify the issues which are in dispute between Ineos and Unite in relation to proposals for the future of the Ineos pension fund.” - John Swinney, Cabinet secretary for finance & sustainable growth in the Scottish parliament

A major UK pension fund is to embark on a multi-million-dollar group class action lawsuit against BP after an Alaskan oil spill caused the scheme’s shares in the energy company to plummet.

Changes to the capital gains tax (CGT) rate have prompted a rush of property completions for self-invested personal pension (Sipp) providers in the weeks running up to the end of the tax year.

Pension providers risk misleading investors who pump money into ‘balanced’ or ‘cautious’ managed funds.

The crisis in global credit markets has significantly strengthened the case for investing in emerging markets.

Muslim investors should turn their attention to Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria if 2008 continues to delivers returns of more than 13% for equities in these countries.

The L&G UK Ethical Trust has come under fire from research company Morningstar for being expensive and lacking sufficiently strict criteria for true ethical investors.

Poor performance by fund managers has led pension schemes to heavily reduce their active management allocation in favour of index-tracking funds.

Despite growth slowing in China, India being knocked by soaring inflation, and most of Asia being hit by the US recession, some experts are still very bullish about investment prospects in Asia.

the last nine months have been a torrid time for credit investors. The subprime debacle has undermined the value of credit ratings and spread contagion throughout the debt market.

Companies offering defined contribution (DC) pension arrangements should focus on tailoring their investment portfolios and taking greater ownership of their objectives, according to Fidelity International.

Advisers migrating clients onto wrap platforms may be breaching regulation, according to research from technology company Dunstan Thomas.

Alliance Trust has emerged as a casualty of the volatile stock markets, as it announced its net asset value was down 4.6% in the 12 months to January 31, 2008.

The insurance buyout market boom continues with several new deals announced recently.

Introducing revised life expectancy tables into the equation when calculating pension liabilities (as proposed by new guidelines from the Pensions Regulator) sounds like a good idea, but taken with the fall in fund values due to market volatility, it could spell the end of defined benefit (DB) schemes in the UK.

The amount of new benefits earned in the public sector this year is expected to be £25bn – more than three times the figure the Treasury expected to raise with the abolition of the 10p tax band.

Neil Marsh, the managing director of specialist self-invested personal pension (Sipp) and small self-administered scheme (SSAS) provider Hornbuckle Mitchell (HM), has died after a prolonged illness.

The move by two established insurers to offer third way annuity products looks set to kick-start a market that has so far failed to catch on in the UK.

It can be all too easy working in the financial services (or even financial journalism) sector to assume everyone is on the same wavelength as you, and can understand the technical terms being bandied about. Oeics, fixed interest securities, diversification, and volatility: these are commonplace words and phrases to the numbers expert, but to the layman – complete gobbledegook.

Much has been written and said about the current shortcomings in our pensions system so it is natural to be wary of yet another view. However, the paper entitled Quelling the Pensions Storm, published in February by Policy Exchange, neatly summarises where we are and what needs to be done.

The most prestigious pensions and investment industry awards are almost upon us. Excitement and anticipation are reaching fever pitch among those providers who took the time and effort to enter the awards.

As the pensions industry comes to terms with the real threat of climate change, opportunities to capitalise from clean technologies and businesses are fast emerging

I recently read the most brilliant article in The Times. One of the best things I’ve read in ages. It’s a story about a bloke called Jack Hammond who is in his late eighties, and who has just sold up his house to go and live in a care home to be near his family.

Pensions Management talks to Timothy Drinkall about MSIM’s confidence in the possible returns from frontier markets, and how the humble soybean helped his investment career soar

Although best known in the industry for her tireless campaign to compensate the victims of lost pensions, Ros Altmann tells David Ricketts that her first ambition was to be an academic economist

The financial sector is one of several driving forces behind current volatility in bonds and equities. But as well as uncertainty, the markets are opening up some good opportunities for investors

High lease value property can provide substantial protection against a changeable market as it offers a defensive alternative to more traditional property assets and fixed income

Lessons learned from other disclosure cases are not always very relevant for pension scheme trustees, whose ombudsman has clear views on information transparency

As the government prepares for the launch of personal accounts in 2012, there is still much to be done to ensure confidence in pensions for people saving for retirement

However positive the industry’s outlook is towards future regulation, the novelty can quickly wear off once processes are in place and must be adhered to

The intent of the RDR to make the financial services market fairer and more accessible to customers is a step in the right direction, but the FSA’s approach could be better

‘Softly, softly catchee monkey’, goes the proverb – and with pension funds hunting sturdy returns being put off the scent by underperforming and overcommissioned active managers, it’s a jungle out there. Given pension fund investment is more about taking steady aim rather than shooting the lights out, passive index-tracking funds are gradually being seen as an essential component of a balanced portfolio.

Passive asset allocation is a tracking technique that is gaining momentum in part for its ability to reduce risk for investors

Employing a solvency manager could be the solution to trustees’ growing workload, with daily asset allocation reviews and risk component modelling becoming par for the course

Technology remains the biggest obstacle for life offices in maintaining a valuable customer service, but it may have to struggle further before catching up with digital developments

Donna Trapnell explores the magic ingredients for giving high quality service to customers with DC pensions

With many trials ahead, process excellence can help providers to focus their technology delivery to improve the overall customer experience

Key speakers

• John Moret - Director of sales and marketing, Suffolk Life
• Andy Cheseldine - DC specialist, Hewitt

The fledgling stages following the introduction of the A-day regime have called into question its flexibility to deal with exceptional cases involving HMRC

Michael Rudge is taking over as interim managing director at The Hartford after the departure of John Enos to pursue other opportunities. It is not clear what Enos’ new ventures are.

The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) is restructuring its management team in a bid to reflect the organisation’s changing priorities.

Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP) has strengthened its buyout services with the promotion of Charlie Finch and David Stewart to partners.