Illiquid assets

Government proposals to employ a charge cap smoothing mechanism in a bid to incentivise defined contribution (DC) pension scheme investment in illiquid assets could have the opposite effect, says the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP).

Con Keating says now may not be the right time to boost scheme allocations to illiquid assets.

The Smart Pension Master Trust has allocated £100m of its default assets to seed a blended private market illiquids fund being launched by Natixis Investment Managers.

DC schemes are increasingly looking at investing in alternatives but face a number of challenges. Charlotte Moore takes a look at the issues they face.

Private markets are becoming more accessible to DC schemes. Alastair O'Dell asks if platform-based funds can really capture the illiquidity premium.

The PPI has unveiled a policy paper outlining current considerations and policy debates relevant to DC scheme default strategies. Kim Kaveh explores some of its views.

The default charge cap for defined contribution (DC) investment strategies should not be amended to make it easier to access illiquid assets, a majority of last week's 91 respondents said.

The master trust is leading the way on DC investment, getting into illiquid assets and challenging asset managers to do more. CIO Mark Fawcett tells Stephanie Baxter about its evolution

The government needs to boost pension schemes' access to illiquid investments, remedy the net-pay tax relief anomaly, and focus on securing a "successful Brexit" for pensions in its upcoming Budget, says the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA)....

Solvency II regulations have caused a shift in the timing of buy-in and buyout transactions, as well as asset sourcing, according to Aon Hewitt.