Engaged Investor's Manchester Trustee Forum: Northern lights
Engaged Investor’s Manchester Trustee Forum highlighted the challenges facing schemes today, says Andrew Sheen
The coming years will bring challenges for trustees of defined benefit (DB) schemes but also opportunities, delegates at Engaged Investor’s Manchester Trustee Forum heard.
Close to the 20th anniversary of Robert Maxwell’s theft of £440m of Mirror Group pension assets, keynote speaker Malcolm McLean OBE said pensions were safer, but the burden of regulation was more onerous as a result.
“Although the man was a crook,” McLean said, “he was the cause of a lot of the legislation that has happened since.”
The economic outlook for all pension schemes and their members remains challenging. A number of speakers talked about ways to find growth in a poor economy, while others concentrated on the risks facing DB schemes and how to control or minimise them.
The day ended with Engaged Investor’s regular question time and trustee clinic slots, in which trustees could quiz industry experts, informal drinks, and a prize draw, generously supported by the sponsors.
