Investment briefings

In this document, First Actuarial investment specialists assess the impact of the ongoing Ukraine conflict on pension scheme assets.

In this ESG update, we discuss whether scheme trustees can justify taking action on climate change, and if so, how they might achieve this.

Over the month of March, it was hard to avoid the financial consequences of coronavirus with all but the most secure asset classes (government bonds and gold) falling in value. However, conditions improved significantly over the final days of the month and further information is provided in this briefing.

Volatility has hit financial markets as coronavirus spreads across the globe. In this update, we present some statistics to help you put recent financial developments into context.

LDI funds offer an efficient way for pension schemes to gain exposure to the gilt market (to ‘match’ liabilities), without tying up too much money. In light of the continued falls in gilt yields, we review whether the LDI approach of borrowing cash to buy gilts remains an appropriate approach…

Superfunds are one of the more interesting DB consolidation solutions to emerge recently. Essentially they involve a third party providing additional capital to replace the covenant of the sponsoring employer. We take a detailed look at how superfunds work and whether you should be considering them for your scheme.

New legislation, issued by the DWP, requires trustees to update their Statement of Investment Principles by 1 October 2019. The SIP must explain how trustees take into account financially material matters over the appropriate, potentially long, time horizon of the scheme’s investments.

As Defined Benefit pension schemes become increasingly mature, more and more of them are moving into negative cashflow, i.e. paying more out in benefits than they receive in contributions. This quarter James Gardner and Russell Oades from our investment team discuss the impact of moving into negative cashflow.

What are the most interesting opportunities in climate-related investment right now? In this briefing  we reproduce the contributions Rob Skelton, Head of Investment Research, made to a recent Climate Investing Roundtable. A full version of the panel discussions is also available within the briefing.

Guidance on how pension schemes can gain access to private market investments, along with our quarterly market performance analysis.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently investigated whether fund ratings, provided by investment consultants, provide value to clients. In this quarter’s Investment Briefing, we discuss the CMA’s main findings.

Dominic West, the latest graduate to join our investment team, speaks with Rob Skelton and Tiksha Kaul about issues of particular interest in fund management today and what it’s like working in this area.

In the wake of the FCA investigation into Newton Investment Management, we give our own analysis of the situation and provide information for those who may be affected.

In 2016 the Financial Stability Board set up a Task Force to assess climate change risk. In this briefings, we discuss the implications of the Task Force’s recently-published recommendations. We also look at the investment case for funds focused on Environmental, Social and corporate Governance (ESG), highlighting investment options in…

Ryan Templeton from our Investment team speaks with Rob Skelton, who leads our investment research, and Phil Kelly from our buy-out team about annuities as a potential investment.

In this briefing we ask – is now a good time to invest in property? January 2017 saw inflows of £434m into European property, the majority of which were to UK-centred property funds. Property has performed strongly over recent years, but does this mean that a crash is due?

The decision to hedge, or not to hedge, currency exposure is an important one. Following significant change in the value of sterling, we take a timely look at the factors pension schemes should consider.

UK Corporate bonds are an important investment component for many schemes. In view of the role of quantitative easing in pushing prices up, we ask: should trustees sell their UK corporate bonds and invest the profits elsewhere?

We look at the impact of the EU referendum result on financial markets at the time of writing, and discuss potential actions for trustees to consider.

Uncertainty is the only certainty when it comes to the forthcoming EU referendum. However, that uncertainty may provide opportunities for pension schemes to lock into an improved funding position. We look back at the Scottish independence referendum of 2014 for lessons learned, and recommend 4 actions to consider.