Investment consultant meaning

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Isio, a pensions consultant, said the idea of the dollar as a safe-haven asset in times of market turmoil could be over. The US dollar currency has fallen markedly in value since President Donald Trump unveiled his 'Liberation Day' tariff regime back on 2 April 2025. Roughly US$2.5trn was wiped from Wall Street in trading during the next session alone. Unhedged exposure to the US had been truly something overseas investors could depend upon as a safety blanket, but now, for the...

XPS Group: £50bn funding gains from rising long-dated government bond yields XPS Group reported that higher yields on long-dated government bonds have generated around £50bn of funding improvements for retirement savings plans in 2024. This update lands as Parliament continues to examine the Pension Schemes Bill this week, which contains reforms permitting businesses to take surpluses from defined benefit plans once they pass a specified threshold. Jill Fletcher, senior consultant at XPS Group, noted that while many schemes still plan to secure benefits through buy-in or buy-out routes, they will nevertheless have to decide how any surplus ought to be deployed...

While operating an occupational pension scheme, trustees might decide to bring in an investment consultant and/or a fiduciary manager. In contrast to ‘fund managers’, investment consultants and fiduciary managers are not regarded as ‘professional advisers’ for the purposes of pensions legislation. For more detail on the rules about appointing professional advisers, refer to Practice Note: Appointing pension professional advisers and other service providers. Development of regulatory framework After a reference from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigated investment consultancy services (IC services) and fiduciary management services (FM services) supplied to pension schemes, and issued its final report on 12 December 2018. It concluded that trustee engagement was weak, that clear and comparable information in order to assess value for money was missing, and that clients were nudged by investment consultants towards their own, higher-cost FM offerings, conferring an incumbency advantage. Accordingly, on 10 June 2019, the CMA made the Investment Consultancy and Fiduciary Management Market Investigation Order 2019 (the CMA Order), imposing...

This Practice Note explores what fiduciary management services mean for occupational pension schemes, covering, among other aspects, the various models and providers, the reasons for opting for them and the possible hurdles, key points trustees should weigh when selecting a fiduciary manager, and the practical mechanics of delivery. For further detail on obligations placed on trustees of occupational pension schemes by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) when appointing investment consultants and fiduciary managers, see Practice Note: Appointing investment consultants and fiduciary managers—the pensions requirements. What is fiduciary management? The concept first emerged in the Netherlands in the 1990s, with the UK’s initial mandate arriving in the early 2000s. Across the UK, defined benefit (DB) schemes are the primary adopters, with only limited uptake among defined contribution (DC) schemes. Historically, strategic investment advice to trustees and the asset implementation to execute that strategy sat apart and were delivered by different firms. Within that conventional model, a pension scheme engages an...

Effective from [ insert date ], this statement of investment principles applies. 1 Statement of investment principles 1.1 Purpose of statement This document outlines the principles that steer decisions on investing the assets of the [ insert name ] Pension Scheme (the Scheme). It is published by the Trustees of the [ insert name ] Pension Scheme (the Trustees) to meet the requirements of the Pensions Act 1995, s 35. 1.2 Review The statement will be assessed each year. The Trustees may conduct an ad hoc review at any time if they consider there has been a material change in investment policy, or any other circumstances affecting the Scheme. 1.3 Advice The Trustees have received and evaluated written advice on the contents of this statement in a letter from [ insert name of investment consultant or actuary ]. [ insert name ] have confirmed to the Trustees that, through their ability and practical experience in financial matters, and with appropriate knowledge...

THE [ insert name of pension scheme ] PENSION SCHEME This statement of investment principles takes effect from [ insert date ]. 1 Statement of investment principles 1.1 Purpose of statement This document outlines the principles that guide decisions on investing the assets of the [ insert name ] Pension Scheme (the Scheme). The Trustees of the [ insert name ] Pension Scheme (the Trustees) issue this document to meet the requirements of section 35 of the Pensions Act 1995. 1.2 Review The statement will be reviewed each year. The Trustees may conduct a special review at any time if they consider there has been a material change in investment policy or any other circumstances affecting the Scheme. 1.3 Advice The Trustees have received and considered written advice on the contents of this statement in a letter from [ insert name of investment consultant or actuary ]. [ insert name ] have confirmed to the Trustees that, through practical expertise in financial...