Pension funds complain about Ellison’s influence over Oracle January 26, 2015 TWO EUROPEAN pension funds yesterday published an open letter to US software giant Oracle complaining about the influence that key shareholder Larry Ellison wields over the company and demanding it allow outside investors a greater say over pay policies. The letter marks the latest attempt in a four-year campaign by Dutch pension group PGGM and [...]
Defined benefit pensions axed from big firms January 18, 2015 Fewer of the UK’s largest firms are offering substantial defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. The number of FTSE 100 companies offering sizeable DB schemes dropped from 65 to 56 in the 12 months to September, according to figures released yesterday by consultants JLT Employee Benefits. A DB scheme is defined as sizeable if the costs [...]
Pensioner bonds: George Osborne heralds over £1bn sold to over-65s as a “huge success” January 17, 2015 More than 100,000 savvy silver-haired savers have jumped at the chance to buy the government's new pensioner bonds, netting the Treasury more than £1bn in just two days. Chancellor George Osborne called it "the biggest opening sales of any retail financial product in Britain's modern history” after the one and three-year bonds went on sale [...]
Pensioner bond website crashes due to demand January 15, 2015 THE CHANCELLOR has proclaimed the launch of £10bn worth of guaranteed growth bonds for over 65s as a “huge success”. A rush of interested investors caused the National Savings and Investments (NSI) website to crash after the bonds were launched yesterday morning. The bonds offer market leading rates, at 2.8 per cent interest over one year or [...]
Pensioner bonds go on sale with up to 4 per cent interest rate for over-65s January 15, 2015 Excited savers clamoured for "granny bonds" which went on sale today, but the stellar demand has caused the National Savings and Investments website to crash. "We are currently experiencing high demand for our 65+ Guaranteed Growth Bonds – customers may have to wait longer than normal to contact us," a spokesman for NS&I told the BBC. "We're [...]
Unite picks Pinsent for pensions January 5, 2015 UNITE the Union, the largest trade union in the UK and Ireland, has appointed international law firm Pinsent Masons as the sole adviser on its £800m Unite Pension Scheme for staff and officers, it emerged yesterday. The pension pot recently doubled in size following the recent merger of the former TGWU and Amicus union pension [...]
Retired workers should be allowed to sell their pensions to the highest bidder, says minister Steve Webb January 4, 2015 Retirees may soon get the right to sell off their savings for a lump sum, according to pensions minister Steve Webb. Liberal Democrat Webb said that he wanted to go further than the reforms outlined by George Osborne at the last budget, which, from this April, allow workers to trade their pension savings for [...]
Pensions pots to Kristofferson: Hermes Investment chief Saker Nusseibeh’s bid to make the City think differently December 21, 2014 “I do genuinely play guitar still, badly; I refuse to look at Harley Davidson stocks – because to me it’s a religion, not a motorbike company and I’m growing my beard to try and look like Kris Kristofferson,” Saker Nusseibeh, chief executive of Hermes Investment Management tells me. “Does this make me a better or [...]
Firms’ £1.8bn bill as pension deficits grow December 18, 2014 PROFITS at Britain’s leading firms are being dragged down by sustained pension fund deficits, thanks to falling bond yields, according to a study out today from Mercer. This problem is exemplified in AA corporate bond yields, which have fallen to 3.38 per cent as measured by the Markit iBoxx >15 year index. This figure is [...]
Belgian unions strike over pension reforms December 15, 2014 Belgian unions grounded all flights, halted all trains and closed hundreds of factories and offices in a nationwide strike yesterday in protest over the government’s planned pension reforms and budget cuts. In Brussels, police held back striking workers who rioted outside the offices of Flemish separatist party N-VA, one of the four parties in the [...]