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Ian McKenna: Beware the bubbling master trust misselling scandal
Advisers must make it clear to employers how much better off staff will be with a workplace pension from a progressive provider
By Ian McKenna 16
th April 2021 7:41 am
If more than 10 million people were directed into poor pensions by advisers, there would be a misselling review on the scale of payment protection insurance. Yet, in the past decade, employers, encouraged by all political parties and much of the master trust community, have done exactly that. This is a problem that needs fixing urgently.
At one level, automatic enrolment has been a huge success. Well over 20 million people now contribute to workplace defined contribution schemes who did not a decade ago.
NEST chooses Octopus Renewables for unlisted infrastructure equity allocation
National Employment Savings Trust, London, appointed
Octopus Renewables to manage an initial £250 million ($346 million) allocation to unlisted infrastructure equity, a spokesman confirmed.
Octopus Renewables will manage direct investments in renewable infrastructure projects, such as solar and offshore wind farms in the U.K. and in Europe, on NEST s behalf.
NEST s investments with Octopus are expected to increase to £1.4 billion over the next decade. The new investments will be funded from new contributions.
The £16 billion defined contribution multiemployer plan currently has around 5% of its investments allocated to private credit, which includes an exposure to infrastructure projects. An additional 4% is invested in retail real estate. Over the next decade, NEST will increase its private markets exposure to 15%.
Nest Commits $350 Million to Octopus Renewables for Green Infrastructure
‘We want to invest in the energy of the future, not the past,’ says CIO Mark Fawcett.
The National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) has appointed Europe’s largest investor in solar and wind assets, Octopus Renewables, to expand its renewable infrastructure investment across the continent.
The UK’s biggest workplace pension plan committed nearly $350 million this year to the endeavor, Nest said Friday. The $22.3 billion retirement system said the commitment could grow to nearly $2 billion by the end of the decade.
Octopus Renewables, which is part of Octopus Group, manages a roughly $4.2 billion infrastructure portfolio. The asset manager will arrange bespoke deals for Nest, the pension fund said, by negotiating directly with owners of renewable infrastructure projects.
U.K. proposes fee cap tweaks to ease illiquids investment
The Houses of Parliament in London
The U.K. government has reiterated its commitment to making it easier for defined contribution plans to boost investments in illiquid assets.
Rishi Sunak, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out in his spring budget 2021 speech Wednesday plans to strengthen public finances and lead an investment-driven recovery following the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The government s plans include amending the way DC fees capped at 0.75% of assets under management and administration are calculated. By smoothing, or spreading the performance fees charged by managers over multiple years rather than looking at an individual year s fees, the government hopes to facilitate DC investment in illiquid strategies.