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UK watchdog lambasts pension fees

A scathing report into the United Kingdom’s £275-billion ($441-billion) defined contribution pension sector by national watchdog the Office of Fair Trading that lambasts high charges and complexity could have gone further say modern, low-cost pension providers. The OFT has agreed a range of reforms to the workplace pension market after its study found millions of

Who should co-invest in private equity?

Some pension funds have hit on a lucrative strategy to extract more value from their private equity portfolios. The £34-billion ($51.6-billion) Universities Superannuation Scheme, the United Kingdom’s second biggest pension fund for university and higher education staff, is expanding a private equity co-investment strategy begun in 2008. It’s a model whereby schemes portion some investment

Global CIO survey: lowered expectations

Connecticut-based financial services management consultant, Casey Quirk, and institutional investment specialist publication, top1000funds.com, joined forces in a global chief investment officer survey to measure the sentiment of asset owners, and the extent to which the 2008 crisis has had an effect on the behaviour of internal investment teams, their outlook and corresponding asset allocation. With

Railpen, the open DB fund with locomotion

Despite the constant pull on Railpen chief executive Chris Hitchen’s expertise in other directions, most recently helping to run NEST, the UK government’s new low-cost pension scheme, he is resolute that his primary task is ensuring Railpen, inhouse manager of the £19-billion ($30.4 billion) pension scheme for Britain’s rail industry, successfully delivers on its monthly

USS powers into diversity

In the past few years the £34-billion ($54.7 billion) Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has substantially diversified its asset allocation, including a large alternatives allocation, and extended its investment team from 65 to 105. In the latest chapter of the fund’s investment department reincarnation, from October this year a separate but fully owned USS company, USS