Scottish pension fund takes Federated Hermes to court over ‘existential gamble’ on wind farms
Aberdeen City Council is taking Federated Hermes to court over an investment in Swedish wind farms which, it alleges, lost $117mn or 83 per cent of the total investment
Danish pension fund sells off US Treasury holdings
The $25bn AkademikerPension fund is selling off its US Treasury holdings, a decision it insists is rooted in the American government’s “poor” finances rather than geopolitics
‘Forced’ pooling of pensions goes down badly in England and Wales
UK local government pension schemes are being ‘essentially forced’ to pool their management ahead of the April 1 deadline - but not everyone is happy about it
What can Australia and the Netherlands teach us about pension consolidation?
As the UK government pushes for pension scheme consolidation, dreaming of economies of scale and a dearth of domestic private investment, we look at the Netherlands and Australia for clues as to what that might look like
New York City’s tussle with BlackRock over ESG turns ugly
Outgoing New York City comptroller Brad Lander has told the city’s pension systems to fire BlackRock over its climate track record. This has not gone down well with the world’s largest asset manager
What happens as DB pensions unwind the ‘frightening’ amount of gilts they own?
Steve Hodder, a partner at LCP, said the proportion of the gilt market owned by defined benefit schemes was “quite frightening” - particularly given the number of DB schemes closing and the large amount of buy-out activity
Large UK pension pulls more money from State Street over ESG
People’s Pension, which runs £38bn in assets, is aiming to align its investments with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warning below 1.5C but some US asset managers are pivoting away from ESG investments
Investment managers with good governance procedures and focus on value will thrive in new DC landscape
Asset managers will need to demonstrate a commitment to good governance as defined contribution master trusts consolidate in time for 2030, according to Jonathan Lipkin, director for policy, strategy and innovation at the Investment Association.
Active to passive manager switch creates emissions concerns
The Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee is weighing return potential against environmental concerns following its recent switch to an emerging market equity tracker fund.
All the cool kids are investing in… natural capital?
Natural capital investments are finding favour among major asset owners, according to data from Gresham House and AOX’s own sister publication MandateWire. We hear from two asset owners on what’s driving their interest in the sector.
How to make pensions Canadian
The first chief executive of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan told AOX forcing funds to invest in their domestic economy usually results in ‘suboptimal’ returns
Multi-employer whole-of-life CDC predicted to lead next phase of UK pension innovation
With new regulation enabling multi-employer collective defined contribution pension schemes expected to be finalised this month, CDC is attracting growing interest from pension providers and employers
Council leader explains how Reform UK will shake up pension
The leader of Derbyshire County Council, which is now controlled by the right-wing populist Reform UK, tells AOX why they are shaking up how the pension scheme he now controls is invested
People’s Partnership completes asset ownership model switch
Dan Mikulskis, chief investment officer at The People’s Partnership - which provides one of the UK’s largest master trusts, has recently completed a transition of its asset ownership model which involved building a team of specialists
Why did UK pensions stop investing in their home market?
In the 1990s the UK pension funds and UK insurers accounted for just over half of all UK quoted shares but according to ONS data that has now dwindled to just 4.2 per cent. What happened?
Is collective defined contribution here to stay?
Last year Royal Mail became the first UK company to launch its own collective scheme. Is CDC here to stay?
Will Scotland remain independent of England’s pension reform agenda?
So far the Scottish government has not issued a pooling mandate, but whether the UK government’s pension reform agenda fails to make it north of the border remains to be seen
Investment consultants to face questions about conflicts of interests
British pensions minister Torsten Bell is worried about conflicts of interest in the professional trustee and investment consultants markets
Is pension transparency in tension with increased private assets?
Rachel Elwell, chief executive of Border to Coast, raises the prospect that the long-awaited pension dashboard might encourage savers to question how much exposure they have to private assets
Pension minister explains how sector can avoid mandation
Torsten Bell told the Pensions UK conference he does not believe he will need to use the powers given to him by the pension schemes bill to force funds to invest in UK assets