Editorial


Mark Dunne Editor


m.dunne@portfolio-institutional.co.uk


Brexit: Keep calm and carry on? It is an issue that everyone in Britain seems to have an opinion about, and while it appears that three


years after the referendum we could finally be approaching the endgame; perhaps the real impact of Brexit is just about to hit?


Delays to the UK’s departure from the European Union mean that pension scheme trustees have been given plenty of notice to prepare for any negative impact or opportunity that this event could bring. The downside of that is pension schemes and other institutional investors could all be trying to buy and sell the same type of assets at the same time. However, as we explain in this month’s cover story, trustees have so far been cautious to change their investment strategies or the shape of their portfolio despite the gravity of the situation that they are hurtling towards. Funding levels, covenants and the strength of the pound are all at risk, which could make things interesting for investment portfolios. Yet this may not be such a turbulent time for schemes. Many have been ditching their risk assets over the past few years to focus on other strategies, such as liability matching, or working to transfer those liabilities to an insurer.


Whether or not the UK departs on Halloween as planned is not clear at this stage as elected members of the Houses of Parliament continue to test the boundaries of democracy. What is clear is that pen- sion schemes are, in a stereotypically British way, keeping clam and carrying on by sticking to their long-term investment strategies. But this has not stopped us, from page 30, taking a timely look at what issues could impact their funding levels and returns. You never know, they may have underesti- mated the impact of leaving the bloc.


Issue 86 | September 2019 | portfolio institutional | 3


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48