Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe two charts below (data sourced from the PPF website) really tell you everything you need to know about risk management of UK pension funds over the last 10 years. Assets have grown steadily from c£700bn to c £1.3trn, although admittedly a very large part of this (possibly all of it) is due to contributions. … More A Decade of UK Pension Risk Management in 2 Charts
Reading Time: 2 minutesAs the UK Liability Driven Investing (LDI) market has grown over the last decade the KPMG LDI Survey “Navigating the LDI Market” has become a really useful tool for understanding the growth of the market at a high level and who the major players are from an asset management perspective. The latest version of the survey, … More LDI Continues to Thrive – 5 Takeaways from the KPMG Survey
Reading Time: 2 minutesWe see literally hundreds of fund managers and investment strategies a year; which do we think are most likely to be successful in 2015? We really see three important things to focus on: risk, diversification, and freedom. Let’s take each of those in turn. Risk. This might sound obvious, but as we see it, the … More Which Investment Strategies Will Thrive in 2015 ?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteData from the Pension Protection Fund as of March 2015 shows that while the assets of UK pension funds have risen in value by 12% over the last year, falling yields have driven a fall in funding ratio of 13%. The aggregate deficit stands at £292bn (this is down slightly from a recent high of … More UK Pension funding ratio falls 13% in a year as yield swings continue
Reading Time: 2 minutesLast month I reported on the record deficit level of UK DB pension funds (as reported by the PPF 7800 index). In spite of reasonable asset returns in recent years, the recent large falls in long dated yields had driven liabilities higher (nearly doubling in 5 years). In February the volatility in long dated yields continued, although … More INFOGRAPHIC: UK DB Pension Deficits Remain Elevated Amid Volatile Yields
Reading Time: 2 minutesEach month the PPF updates its index which tracks the assets and liabilities of 7800 pension schemes in the UK. The January update brought painful reading as the sharp decline in gilt yields in the last quarter of 2014 and first month of 2015 has seen liabilities balloon to £1.6trn (measured on the PPF funding … More INFOGRAPHIC: UK DB Pensions Deficit Hits Record High
Reading Time: 2 minutesWe held our first Redington (Un)conference in February 2015, with around 100 clients and prospects listening to 10 5-minute TED-style presentations and participating in a quick flamenco dance routine to liven things up halfway, followed by drinks and networking.
Reading Time: 3 minutesSituated 120km from Weymouth on the English South Coast, and 50km from Normandy, Guernsey (population 65,000) is a beautifully scenic island with around 50km of coastline and a maritime climate supported by the gulf stream which leads to pleasant summers and mild winters. It is also well known for a regulatory-light insurance regime, leading to the island deriving … More Guernsey is a lovely place …
Reading Time: 4 minutesTail risk hedging seems to be a popular topic at the moment, why? Markets are at highs, but plenty of risks remain. While equity markets have rallied considerably in recent years – The equity market (as measured by the MSCI World Index) is up over 30% since Mario Draghi proclaimed the ECB had “removed tail risk for … More 3 ways to protect a portfolio against downside risks
Reading Time: 3 minutesI had the pleasure of speaking at The Institute of Actuaries Pensions conference in June 2014 on the topic of social media in the pensions industry. It’s a fascinating topic in which I’m far from an expert, but I have learnt a few interesting things since first dipping my toe in the professional social media … More Using Social Media in the Pensions Industry
