Cardano is on the verge of completing its seventh and eighth client wins which will take assets under management or advice to over £10bn.

Some of the most vindicated people in fund management over the last few months have been some of the most plain and grey.

Balanced managed funds have lost as much as 30% of their value as a result of the economic turmoil, according to Pan Andreas, director at Towry Law.

The pensions industry could face a massive hike in administration costs when new regulatory powers in the pensions bill become law.

The Pensions Regulator has urged trustees to be pragmatic in enforcing recovery plans when their employers are facing difficult trading conditions.

The government is proposing a change in the law to make it easier for women to qualify for the full state pension.

PADA has released its first annual report.

The scheme is expected to have between four and seven million members, with up to £200bn of assets under management by 2040.

Chief executive Tim Jones said the delivery authority has developed rapidly as an organisation in its first year.

The UK Scheme Awards 2008:

Here is the roll of honour for our scheme awards held in London this month. The best of the photos and a full write-up will be published in the next edition of Pensions Week.

Researchers have developed a way of forecasting mortality rates that incorporates unusual events.

The method, devised by Dr Iain Currie and James Kirkby, could be used by pension scheme actuaries to measure volatility in mortality forecasts.

“Flu epidemics, hot summers or cold winters can disproportionately affect the mortality of certain age groups in particular years,” said Currie.

Companies should treat defined benefit schemes as business subsidiaries and allocate sufficient resources to manage their risk, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Annuity rates are expected to fall significantly over the next year due to higher longevity and falling bond rates.

Local authority pension schemes have no plans for interim valuations or contribution rises, despite losing £25bn in market falls.

Payment of large deficit contributions can be made dependent on trustees taking specific investment choices that help their sponsor, according to Mercer.

Almost half of the UK’s adult population, including those approaching retirement age, are failing to contribute towards a pension scheme.

Demand for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives has soared over the past year, according to research from an investment management consultancy.

The scope of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) is to broaden to include alternative investments and emerging markets.

Six of the top 20 worst days for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index were recorded over the past month, according to State Street Global Markets.

The firm said institutional investor flows from emerging markets had slumped, although there was some robust activity in European emerging markets.

It said the notion that emerging markets would decouple from the rest of the world had been shown to be a fallacy.

Analysis: Pooling groups of small pension funds to help them get purchasing power in buyouts and buy-ins is an attractive idea. But does it work in practice, asks David Rowley.

There are many problems with the current pension reforms. One is that government ministers, up to now, have been blissfully able to ignore is the fact that pension savings can be reduced in value (or even reduced to having no value at all) through interaction with means-tested entitlements paid out to older people.

Trustee boards should consider making full use of the flexibility within the regulations to ensure they end up with committed and skilled recruits. By Rachel Brougham.

Gearing

The use of borrowing to magnify returns for shareholders. Also known as leverage, when a company borrows, it is gearing its returns for equity shareholders.

While there are stringent rules surrounding the use of Sipps, they offer a great deal of opportunity to invest in some lesser known assets. By Steve Latto.

The nature of ownership can be problematic. Tom Powdrill asks how this affects responsibility.

Annual corporate governance seminar:

Welcome to hard times

November 4, 2008

NAPF, Westminster

Baby boomers

A recent study supported by the Economic and Social Research Council shows that most members of the baby boom generation – often regarded as the first teenagers of a more affluent consumer society – have “modest ideas for their retirement”.

Although the expression ‘surplus’ is widely used, it is not a legally defined term and often has misleading connotations. A surplus is said to exist when the value of a scheme’s assets exceeds the actuarially estimated value of its liabilities at that date.

Is property an alternative investment? At a recent seminar held by Pensions Management and PW, the point was argued by Ros Altmann, independent consultant and trustee for the Trafalgar House pension scheme; and Mike Taylor, chief executive of the London Pension Funds Authority.

While retail investors put all their faith into domestic commercial property, canny pension schemes have taken a more global approach, says Sarah Das.

Commercial property is inextricably linked to the health of the economy and has experienced corrections as a result, but it is still a vital investment class in any well-diversified portfolio, says Edward Trevillio.

About Scottish Widows Investment Partnership

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) is one of Europe's largest asset management companies, managing over £90bn worth of assets. We invest across all the major asset classes for a wide range of clients, including corporate pension funds, local authorities and charities.

Despite the global property market being shaken by the turmoil of the last 12 months, investing in Reits and Reocs still offers a prudent, multifaceted way of bringing in returns from property assets, says E. Todd Briddel.

Background

BNY Mellon Asset Management offers excellence through specialisation. Its unique asset management model is ideally structured to provide best-in-class pooled and segregated investment solutions to meet the needs of pension investors.

BNY Mellon Asset Management has appointed Catherine Doyle to the newly created position of deputy head of pooled funds and defined contribution (DC).

Santander Asset Management UK has promoted Jeff Scott (pic) to chief executive, succeeding Ignacio Izquierdo, who takes on a senior role with Santander in Spain.

Aon Consulting’s benefits solutions team has appointed two sales managers to build on strong growth and sales.

Club Vita, Hymans Robertson’s longevity research firm, has appointed Peter Thompson (pic) and Sarah Harper as non-executive directors on its supervisory board.