Mary McDougall

Pension funds urged to target ‘Canada First’ investments Industry minister wants financial institutions to help cut the country’s economic dependence on the US

A new wave of economic nationalism in Canada is pushing the country's largest pension funds to invest more in the domestic economy www.ft.com/content/209a...

Reeves to encourage pension groups to team up in push for UK investment Chancellor’s Sterling 20 initiative will try to make it more seamless for pension funds to back British infrastructure and growth projects

Move over ‘Maple 8’, here comes UK’s ‘Sterling 20’ group of pension funds… on.ft.com/4n39uYN w/ @aarmstrongsays.bsky.social and @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social

Seven UK local authority pension funds to combine assets with bigger manager Talks with Border to Coast come as Rachel Reeves pushes for consolidation of Local Government Pension Scheme

Chart credit to Toby Nangle. Story here: www.ft.com/content/04b6...

The 21 local authority pension funds orphaned by closure of Access and Brunel asset pools look set to split almost evenly with seven to Border to Coast, seven to LGPS Central, and four to LPPI (three yet to announce but two expected to go to LPPI). Govt said they could not all move together.

Baillie Gifford among fund managers at risk from pooling of local authority pension funds Chancellor Rachel Reeves is on a mission to consolidate assets to lower costs and support investment

Baillie Gifford among fund managers at risk from pooling of local authority pension funds on.ft.com/4mC6Hpi

Tax-free pension withdrawals have shot up ahead of bringing pensions within IHT and budget speculation that the tax-free lump sum allowance will be cut. FoI response from FCA. w/ @emdunks.bsky.social: www.ft.com/content/f9f9...

Top pension fund pulls €14bn from BlackRock in sustainability pivot PFZW dumps world’s largest asset manager as European managers increasingly diverge with US over ESG

PFZW has pulled €14bn equity mandate from BlackRock and €15bn from LGIM as it pivots to active strategies after a sustainability review. PFZW said it had “become more difficult to align with American managers when it comes to voting”. w/ @attractamooney.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/e8ec...

Reform UK calls for end to ‘egregious’ council pension fund fees Populist party says taxpayers are being ‘taken for mugs’ over Local Government Pension Scheme

Reform's Richard Tice making some bold claims on LGPS reform. Many agree costs should be lower but are sceptical of his plans: www.ft.com/content/f325...

Torsten Bell’s manifesto: how could UK pensions minister shape tax reform? Rachel Reeves has given the former chief of a left-leaning think-tank a key role in preparing her Autumn Budget

How might Torsten Bell shape the autumn budget? And what's out of scope: www.ft.com/content/4b34...

Retail investors flock to gilts in record year Investment platforms report big inflows as yields rise

Retail gilt splurge that definitely won't go wrong continues
www.ft.com/content/f744...

Nice story from @marymcd.bsky.social @emilydherbert.bsky.social @lexiter.ft.com

UK National Wealth Fund boosts investment in ‘volatile’ battery storage sector £500mn cash injection into Eelpower Energy aims to draw investors and ease grid pressures

www.ft.com/content/8f73... The National Wealth Fund has partnered with Aware Super and Equitix to invest £500mn in battery developement and storage across England and Scotland. Aware Super hopes for double digit returns. Will British pension funds follow?

M&G, Schroders and Hargreaves Lansdown explore ‘master trust’ pension market Asset managers aim for new business as UK government pushes fewer, bigger schemes with better governance structures

M&G, Schroders and Hargreaves Lansdown explore entering the ‘master trust’ pension market, which DWP estimates could grow from about £140bn in 2023 to about £420bn in 2030. www.ft.com/content/685e...

How much must pre-92 and post-92 universities contribute to pensions? The schemes have different accrual rates and different levels of security, but this is what VCs see when looking at payroll: it now costs way more to hire an academic (on the same salary) at a post-92 university.

Interesting read on how pension costs are squeezing post-92 universities from @marymcd.bsky.social on.ft.com/4oTBmAW

Seven UK local authority pension funds to join Border to Coast Ministers want town hall schemes to combine assets

Big LGPS news - seven of the local authority funds in the ACCESS pool have signalled intent to joing Border to Coast - which will pull its aum from £65bn to over £100bn www.ft.com/content/04b6...

Brookfield strikes £2.4bn deal to buy London-listed insurer Just Group Chancellor Rachel Reeves welcomes deal amid concerns over UK stock market departures

The latest in North American investors swooping in on the UK's pension risk transfer market @leeharris.ft.com www.ft.com/content/f460...

The most important story in the world right now.

Bereaved families to report and pay tax on inherited pensions Government to switch responsibility away from pension providers

HMRC has made some changes to its plans for bringing pensions within inheritance tax estates from 2027 - welcomed by scheme administrators but adds more burden to estate executors. Good news for DB schemes that death in service benefits no longer in scope www.ft.com/content/ec85...

UK launches review into state pension age Move announced as government appoints commission to look at boosting retirement savings

UK launches review into state pension age https://on.ft.com/3UnSBfu

UK pensions overhaul looms as minister warns of slump in retirement income Torsten Bell says government will ‘complete the job’ of Blair-era reforms

UK pensions overhaul looms as minister warns of slump in retirement income https://on.ft.com/4fj0ixr

Lord Mayor criticises UK companies for choosing low-fee pension schemes Alastair King says investing in alternative assets will yield higher returns ahead of Mansion House speech

Lord Mayor criticises UK companies for choosing low-fee pension schemes https://on.ft.com/44R7H23

Dutch pension funds set to sell €125bn of government bonds Overhaul of Eurozone’s largest retirement sector is expected to put pressure on continent’s debt markets

Today in "reasons to be worried about long-term debt demand"

#1 @marymcd.bsky.social on Dutch pension funds who are moving from DB to DC and needing a lot less long-dated sovereign bonds
www.ft.com/content/8679...

UK faces ‘daunting’ risks to public finances, OBR warns Britain’s ability to respond to future shocks is ‘substantially eroded’ because of high debt, says fiscal watchdog

Great piece by @marymcd.bsky.social and Sam Fleming www.ft.com/content/6505... re: OBR concerns on the growing pressure on the public finances. This also highlights the flaw at the heart of the government's strategy of centralising financing via gilts in the hope that this increases future tax

Pension pots of savers at risk from new UK rule, industry experts warn Forcing defined contribution schemes to invest a minimum amount in private assets could ‘lead to poorer returns’

Pension pots of savers at risk from new UK rule, industry experts warn https://on.ft.com/4erPblb

Some BIG pensions numbers on the front page of today’s FT with excellent reporting inside from @marymcd.bsky.social.

Scottish Widows to slash UK equity exposure [FREE TO READ] Move by Lloyds Banking Group-owned pension provider comes as government pushes for more investment in British companies

Scottish Widows is preparing to slash exposure to UK equities in its £72bn pension default funds. Bad news for Britain’s ailing stock market. Big jump planned for its US equity exposure. Comes after the Lloyds-owned pension provider refused to sign Mansion House Accord: on.ft.com/4n7SGB9

Australian pension fund Aware Super cites ‘significant’ opportunities in Europe One of country’s largest funds is ahead of schedule with plans to invest billions in UK and rest of continent

Australian pension fund Aware Super cites ‘significant’ opportunities in Europe

https://www.ft.com/content/ee20de60-4787-4a93-afc6-3e2caecdb81a

The mounting pressure on bond markets [FREE TO READ] For the first time in almost a generation, governments are starting to face regular resistance from investors when they try to sell long-term debt

“It’s a classic supply-and-demand mismatch problem, but on a global scale”

The pressure is building in the long-term government bond market on.ft.com/3Zk9Dhx

UK pensions bill pushes more investment in private markets Proposed law would give regulators option to force some defined contribution workplace schemes to back more British assets

Interestingly the reserve power in the pensions bill to force DC schemes to invest in the UK is linked to the scale test and regulatory approval. Will not apply to listed securities and has a sunset clause of 2035. No detail on what an asset allocation target could be. on.ft.com/4dSPxkH

Big investors shift away from US markets Donald Trump’s trade war and rapidly mounting government debt have shaken confidence in American assets

Big investors shift away from US markets

https://www.ft.com/content/019a275c-ab14-4ac3-8a7e-68758dd234a8

UK to unveil pension reform aimed at boosting retirement savings Parliamentary bill presented on Thursday set to include a ‘reserve’ power that could force schemes to invest more in Britain

UK pensions bill coming today! Covers key areas including: small pot consolidation, income in retirement, value for money, multi employer scheme consolidation, DB surplus extraction, DB superfunds, ppf levy, and controversial ‘reserve’ power to set asset allocation targets… on.ft.com/4kv5z6L