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Investing April 23, 2001
UK Pension Funds at 20 Year Lows
April 23, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - So far, 2001 has
been a brutal year for UK pension fund mangers, with returns
languishing at levels not seen since 1974.
Reported by Camilla Klein
Numbers from performance measurement company CAPS, show returns for managers- flagship pooled mixed with property pension funds in negative territory for the fifth consecutive quarter, falling 7.2% in the first quarter of 2001.
Not surprisingly, value investors, underexposed to the TMT sector, performed best, with fund management group, Phillips & Drew at the top of a list of 69 funds, its managed exempt fund rising 5.2% and its life managed fund up 4.8%.
Those numbers stand in sharp contrast to the average flagship fund, which fell 10.3% in the year ending March 31, according to the Financial Times.
It was the only pension fund management group to record a positive return over the period, no doubt thanks to the group?s value-focused strategy. The firm has concentrated on investing in cheap or under-valued stocks, shying away from new economy stocks.
Another value manager, Bank of Ireland, found its way into the top three, recording a fall of 2.1%.
Bigger Not Better
The largest of the top ten, Standard Life, with £1.3bn under management, came in sixth, retreating -5.8% over the period, citing its underexposure to technology and increasingly heavy exposure to cyclicals and financials as the reason for its relative success.