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.

Trustees and fund managers will expect Glencore’s corporate governance to improve now it has joined the FTSE 100, governance experts have warned.

The FTSE 100 has traditionally been seen as a relatively safe investment for UK pension funds due to standards imposed by the UK Corporate Governance Code.

Investment advisers have warmly welcomed the return of index-linked savings certificates from NS&I, introduced last month.

First confirmed in March’s 2011 Budget, the issuances will assist NS&I in meeting its net financing target for 2011-2012 of £2bn. To meet this target, NS&I will need to achieve inflows of some £14bn.

A 30-year-old auto-enrolled into an average defined contribution (DC) arrangement today would need an initial pot of three times their salary to receive an acceptable retirement income.

The government is under pressure to amend legislation governing local government pension schemes, allowing them to make better use of liability-driven investment (LDI).

Financial services provider Hargreaves Lansdown has broken into the FTSE 100 just four years after originally listing.

A new pension index from Alexander Forbes aims to provide a clearer understanding of the public’s full pension entitlements, including state benefits and defined contribution (DC) expectations.

The Alexander Forbes National Pension Index aims to be as prevalent in the public eye as the House Price Index, which is used to make homeowners aware of the value of their property.

Jim O’Neill, the man who coined the term ‘BRIC economies’ nine years ago, has argued for the markets to no longer be classed as emerging.

PensionDCisions has received approval for a US patent of its business methods in producing and comparing the investment performance of personal pensions.

The analysts began the patent process five years ago, and are hopeful of securing a second patent in Australia – tying up the intellectual property rights for its methodology in the two most advanced nations for defined contribution pensions.

Swiss Re’s partnership with Kortis Capital could open the gates to a capital markets solution to the UK’s longevity problem.

For years, longevity specialists have bemoaned the lack of interaction from the capital markets in providing a financial tool to help hedge longevity away – and now Swiss Re hopes to have an answer.

In December, the reinsurer announced the transfer of $50m (£31m) of longevity trend risk to the capital markets through the Kortis Capital securitisation programme.

Gartmore’s institutional investors stand to profit from Henderson’s purchase of the ailing asset manager, according to Pensions Management figures.

A comparison of 16 parallel institutional funds showed Henderson outperforming Gartmore in 75% of the funds over the three years to January 12, 2011 – the longest comparative data available.

Trustees have been warned not to fall under the misconception that diversified growth funds (DGFs) remove risk.

Falling bond yields during the third quarter increased the cost of pension fund liabilities, offsetting the 14% rise in the FTSE All Share Index, according to Mercer.

Emerging market debt and property are the two key danger areas in non-matching asset allocation, experts have warned.

Moves to give enhanced rights to pension funds that hold long-term investments are being considered by Lindsay Tomlinson, chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).

Tomlinson, who was speaking at the NAPF’s annual conference in Liverpool, is to take part in a government initiative to encourage or enforce a move away from damaging short-term practices by City firms, which is being led by Vince Cable, minister for business.

One proposal from institutional shareholder organisation Governance For Owners, is for those who only hold shares for short periods, for example, less than a year, to be penalised by losing voting rights. Another idea is that long-term holders of equity be given higher dividend payments.

A double-dip recession is unlikely, but the country should prepare for a slow recovery, according to former chancellor Norman Lamont.

The National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) could help resolve the problem of “ownerless corporations”, the chairman of the National Association of Pensions Funds (NAPF) has claimed.

Speaking at the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment’s Annual Lecture, Lindsay Tomlinson said a vast institutional investor such as Nest would be able to face large corporations and exert some influence on the way they are run.

A nationwide advertising campaign aimed at encouraging pension schemes and other shareholders to take environmental issues seriously has been launched following the Florida oil spill.

BP’s ongoing problems following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill highlight the need to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, investors have been warned.
The multinational company’s failure to prevent and manage one of the worst ever oil spills has seen its share price collapse and posed a threat to its ongoing quarterly dividend.

Some of you will already be staring down the barrel of annual leave with the family and have developed an anxiety complex about not getting a fix of your favourite subjects.
If that is the case, fear not, as there is a wealth of video material recorded by PM to keep you occupied during the summer break.

Providers of life settlement funds are urging pension schemes not to ignore their products when reassessing  their asset allocations.
Life settlements have received negative press, most recently from the fraud behind the demise of Keydata.

Resolution, the vehicle constructed by Clive Cowdery to consolidate the UK insurance industry, has set its hat at a new potential suitor.
French insurer Axa is looking to sell off parts of its UK arm and is eager do to business with the buyout merchants.
Up for grabs are Axa’s legacy policies, including Sun Life, but excluding the profitable Sun Life Direct.
The IFA protection business is also in the frame, as is the the corporate pensions business, headed up by Paul McMahon.

Vanguard, the investment management firm, has warned the cautious strategy of the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) could have a major impact on the development of target date funds in the UK.

An association has been formed with the aim of clarifying and establishing best practice for the often blurry fiduciary management industry.

A leading economist’s proposal that pension funds increase shareholder activism to reform capitalism sparked incredulity from delegates at the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Investment Conference.

Two reports into fund management have slammed the charges that managers apply to their funds, claiming they often exceed the funds’ returns.

Analysts have claimed Aberdeen Asset Management’s £84.7m acquisition of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) fund arm is nothing more than opportunism.

Confidence is returning to the investment market just over a year after the onset of the financial crisis, according to Bank of America (BoA) Merrill Lynch.

As Friends Provident prepares for life as part of Resolution, the company’s interim financial report shows the recession has taken its toll.

The BT Pension Fund is to cut back its use of Hermes Fund Managers to just 50% of assets by next year.

BlackRock’s $13.5bn (£8.2bn) merger with Barclay’s Global Investors (BGI) could significantly enhance the latter’s exc-hange traded funds (ETFs) business, experts have predicted.

The Hedge Fund Standards Board (HFSB) has hit out at recent negative press coverage of the industry following the financial crisis.

A leading offshore finance firm has hit out at what it sees as unnecessary criticism of countries or dependencies offering ‘tax neutral’ services.

Asset management firm Neuberger Berman Group (NB Group) has purchased the asset management arm of Lehman Brothers, which will now be known as Neuberger Berman Europe.

Ashmore Global Opportunities Limited (AGOL) is a “healthy fund with no underlying problems”, according to its parent company, despite the board holding a shareholder vote on winding up the fund.

Barclays is rumoured to be in talks to sell its asset management arm, Barclays Global Investors (BGI).

The winners of the Pensions and Investment Provider Awards 2009 were announced last night at a gala event hosted by comedian and broadcaster Mark Dolan.

The UK’s biggest pension funds have agreed to kick-start lending to firms unable to gain sufficient bank loans in the credit crunch.

The debate over whether lifestyling is a more effective investment and derisking tool than target-dated funds continues to divide industry opinion.

Demand for shareholder engagement services have soared over concerns that organisations such as the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) did not do enough to prevent corporate excess.

Vanguard, one of the world’s largest investment houses and a major player in US 401k market, is launching a UK funds business.

Pension schemes are eager to reduce hedge fund and fund-of-hedge fund fees, according to research from Bfinance, the independent consulting firm.

Henderson Group has confirmed further details of its proposed acquisition of New Star Asset Management.

Standard Life is to remediate certain customers of its Sterling Pension Fund following its announcement that the value of the fund had dropped by 5%.

Advisers are set to gain from the credit crunch, according to research from Axa.