Reading Time: 2 minutesMy most-read blog posts of 2016 were: 1. Why Anthony Hilton is wrong about DB pensions This post, responding to the misguided (in my view) viewpoints of London Evening Standard journalist Anthony Hilton in September garnered by far the most views of any of my blogs this year (around 1400 views). An extended version of … More 2016’s Most Popular
Reading Time: 2 minutesI was fortunate enough to attend “an audience with Sir Dave Brailsford”. A fundraising event for Bloodwise in London in November 2015. As a big cycling fan I have read before about Dave Brailsford’s famous “marginal gains” approach, so I was looking forward to the evening. I found it very enjoyable, and felt he shared some really insightful points … More 6 Things I Learned from Sir David Brailsford
Reading Time: 4 minutesUK pension funds have been through a hell of a ride over the last 10 years, and more. changes in regulation, longevity, interest rates, equity markets and the changing fortunes of sponsoring companies have all contributed to making the UK pension industry a tricky place. But are the lessons learnt relevant to other investors, particularly Sovereign … More Five lessons from UK Pensions for SWFs and Others
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.
