The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has launched three new Made Simple Guides on Better Data, Better Governance; Diversified Growth Funds; and Foreign Exchange − extending the popular series designed to help demystify some of the most complex and technical areas of investment and pensions management.

Commenting on the launch of the new Made Simple Guides, Graham Vidler, Director of External Affairs, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, said:

“Workplace pensions have seen phenomenal change in recent years. Employers and pension schemes have been working really hard to keep up, but inevitably the pace of change has put additional pressure on already stretched resources. Schemes are experiencing a higher volume of work and they are also finding the nature of their work becoming increasingly complex. This is where our Made Simple guides come in – they cut through the pensions jargon to provide straightforward explanations in plain English.

“The Made Simple series has been consistently voted a valued and popular resource for trustees and pension managers by our members, and we now have three brand new guides to add to this important toolkit.

“I would like to thank J.P. Morgan, HSBC Global Asset Management and HSBC Bank for their expertise and support in developing these guides. Without our business members’ input we would not be able to provide the range and diversity of high quality products and services pension funds value.”

BETTER DATA, BETTER GOVERNANCE MADE SIMPLE GUIDE

Rob Calder, Head of UK Pensions for Investor Services at J.P. Morgan, sponsors of the Better Data, Better Governance Made Simple Guide, commented:

“Data management and record keeping is an area which trustees must take seriously. As the volume and breadth of required data continues to increase, trustees need to have a holistic data and reporting strategy that can satisfy record keeping, regulatory, risk management and reporting requirements. As a trustee or pensions manager it’s important to understand the principles of data management and accurate record keeping. Regardless of the analytical tools and reports you use, an awareness of the data behind the scenes will help schemes to interpret the results, helping inform decisions and distinguish real issues from red herrings.”

DIVERSIFIED GROWTH FUNDS MADE SIMPLE GUIDE

Stuart White, Head of Strategy at HSBC Global Asset Management, sponsors of the Diversified Growth Funds (DFGs) Made Simple Guides, said:

“We are delighted to launch our third Made Simple Guide for the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association. This Made Simple Guide seeks to provide a clear and simple overview of DFGs to help pension scheme trustees understand what they are, how they can help pension funds and members, and offer some questions to ask when thinking about DGF investing.”

FOREIGN EXCHANGE MADE SIMPLE GUIDE

Nic A Jones, Director, Fund Solutions Sales, HSBC Bank plc, sponsors of the Foreign Exchange (FX) Made Simple Guide, commented:

“The FX market is a fast-paced, ever-changing market which for pension funds means potentially unlocking new opportunities, but also brings uncertainty as seen recently. Global influences have created unprecedented volatility, witnessed by the surprise Swiss National Bank EURCHF support removal, the threat of Grexit and geo-political challenges around the world including Britain’s referendum on Europe.

“HSBC have been closely aligned with the pensions sector through our dedicated FX Fund Solutions team and are continuing to develop specific solutions for them as they face further regulatory and performance related challenges. Our FX offering aims to encompass multiple aspects of the currency requirements of UK and global pension schemes from transactional outsourcing, with the likes of our LGPS FX Platform to currency overlay management to reduce risk.

“We are pleased to have partnered with the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association to develop this Made Simple Guide to help pension funds understand their currency exposure, and we look forward to our continuous engagement with the pensions sector for many years to come.”

PDF versions of these Made Simple Guides are available to download FREE from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association website. Each guide (hard copy) costs £18 for members and £35 for non-members. They can be ordered online at www.plsa.co.uk.

The guides are the first to be published under the new brand, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, formerly known as the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), which was revealed last week at the Association’s Annual Conference 2015 in Manchester.

THE SMALL PRINT
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