As regular readers of Pensions Talk may remember, I spend a good deal of my time advising banks and pension scheme trustees on entering into ISDA derivative contracts. Over the last couple of months a new topic has come onto my agenda, namely common investment funds set up by pension schemes which are entering into derivative contracts.
Archive for the ‘Investment’ Category
The rise of the CIF: common investment funds for pension schemes go into the derivatives arena
Monday, 29 November 2010Pension scheme investments: looking through pooled funds to check for employer-related investments
Friday, 3 September 2010The rules on pension scheme employer-related investments (ERI) are changing. The DWP announced yesterday (2 September) that it has laid regulations before Parliament amending the 2005 Investment Regulations so that, from 23 September, pension scheme investments in certain pooled funds are no longer excluded from the 5% limit on employer-related investments. So what will this mean for trustees?
Top ten pensions issues: are you keeping up with the Joneses?
Tuesday, 27 April 2010A week ago I started running through the top ten issues our clients were looking at at the moment. So were you able to predict what the next five are? Here goes…..
Top ten pensions issues: are you keeping up with the Joneses?
Wednesday, 21 April 2010Back in October, when we launched pensionstalk, we said that we would let you know what was happening at the coal face (without, of course, breaching client confidentiality). Having checked with my colleagues, I’m going to give you the top ten issues over the next few weeks starting with the ones you can probably predict….
To lend or not to lend: modern myths
Friday, 22 January 2010Stock lending is back in the news again. The Pensions Regulator has issued a “help for trustees” statement (see our Pensions Prompt for the detail). But it wasn’t what the Regulator said that attracted my attention (it was good sensible stuff) but rather a piece in the FT the other day. The FT quoted some comments made by Frank Field MP, who in turn refers to statements by the unnamed chairman of a pension scheme, on the subject of stock lending. By now you’ll have realised that this is a bit derivative and the story may have changed in the telling, but I had some difficulty in believing what was being said.
