The UK’s Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has today launched a tender to appoint a new firm to join its Specialist Administration and Actuarial Services Panel (SAASP), which provides critical assistance to the PPF and schemes when they enter the lifeboat fund’s assessment period.
The panel works closely with trustees and other PPF panel advisers and plays a key role processing schemes through assessment, allowing the £38bn (€45.8bn) PPF to determine with accuracy if a scheme has sufficient assets to buy out benefits with an insurer or if it will need to make a claim on the PPF and transfer into the fund, it said in a statement.
Dan Collins, PPF panel relationship manager, said: “The SAASP panel plays a vital role in our assessment of schemes after their sponsoring employer has suffered an insolvency event. We know this period is an unsettling time for members and so it’s extremely important for us to assess schemes as efficiently and as quickly as possible so we can provide them with clarity on their financial futures.”
The new firm, the PPF said, will join the SAASP on 1 August 2022 and will provide trustees with specialist actuarial s143 valuations for schemes in assessment.
It will also undertake scheme data cleansing exercises for the PPF which will ensure all recorded scheme information, including member data, is accurate, and that pensioners and beneficiaries are receiving the right levels of benefits.
The appointed firm will also need to provide other critical services, if required, including ongoing scheme administration whilst in assessment including responding to member requests and calculating retirement quotes.
“The successful firm will work within a set framework to deliver their assessment and specialist services within a set timeframe and cost parameters which delivers good value for the PPF and our levy payers,” Collins added.
“They will also work in partnership with the other panel firms to collaborate and share ideas which will further improve and evolve our assessment process for the betterment of the schemes, their members and the PPF,” he said.
The SAASP was launched in 2016 and the incumbent firms, Broadstone Pensions, Barnet Waddingham and Spence & Partners, have all been on the panel since it was launched.
Tender proposals must be submitted by 1pm on 18 May 2022 on the PPF’s eTendering portal.
German insurer awards €100m to Schroders
Barmenia, a German insurer, has selected Schroders Capital to manage a €100m private assets impact mandate.
The portfolio, which will be classified as Article 9 in accordance with the EU’s SFDR regulations, will be composed of impact-focused investments in private equity, sustainable infrastructure and climate insurance, it was announced.
The sustainability and impact objectives will be key across the whole portfolio and be reinforced by investments into two funds managed by impact investment pioneer BlueOrchard, part of the Schroders Group, the firm said.
The portfolio will aim to be fully invested within the next 36 months.
Andreas Eurich, chair of the board of management of Barmenia, said: “We are sustainable by conviction. We translate this focus into financing innovations and long-term investments in sustainable financial markets. We are very proud to have reached another milestone in our commitment to sustainability with our first impact mandate of this kind.”
The mandate aims to make a positive contribution to climate change, resource efficiency and the fulfilment of a number of the United Nations’ SDGs, including number 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), number 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and number 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).
As a result of the mandate with Schroders Capital, Barmenia is further expanding its commitment in the area of sustainability. Recently, rating agency Assekurata certified the insurer’s sustainability performance and awarded it a rating of AA (very good) for its new ESG rating procedure.
Carola Schroeder, member of the Barmenia management board, added: “We want to contribute to making investments sustainable, so that the transformation to a climate-friendly economy and society as a whole can succeed. With this investment, we are also proving once again that sustainability is not at the expense of returns.”
Investor in Belgium seeks manager for €150m equities mandate
An institutional investor based in Belgium has reached out to IPE Quest to search for an asset manager for an all/large cap equities mandate.
According to search QN-2761, the institutional investor based is planning to invest €150m in an active strategy following the MSCI World ex-Japan ex-Financial Net Return Index.
The investor is looking for a risk-reducing strategy – avoiding higher volatility, drawdown than the benchmark, diversifying away from growth/quality strategy.
When applying for the tender, performance as of 28 February 2022 should be stated and participating managers will need to have at least €750m in assets under management (AUM) for the asset class, with a minimum of at least €4bn in total AUM.
Participating managers should also have a minimum track record of five years but seven years is preferred.
The deadline to participate has been set for 27 April 5pm UK time.
The IPE news team is unable to answer any further questions about IPE Quest, Discovery, or Innovation tender notices to protect the interests of clients conducting the search. To obtain information directly from IPE Quest, please contact Jayna Vishram on +44 (0) 20 3465 9330 or email jayna.vishram@ipe-quest.com.
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