Football may not be coming home, but data protection certainly is! There are many issues stemming from the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) which will impact on pension plans. We would like to share a few thoughts on just one of these. For the first time, data processors will be directly liable for breaches of … Continue Reading
With the news today that Theresa May will become prime minister this Wednesday, we note with interest reports that she intends to make large companies more accountable by having consumers and employee representatives on boards. This resurrects an idea put to consultation by BIS during Vince Cable’s watch in the run-up to the introduction of … Continue Reading
In the wake of the Brexit vote, several asset managers have closed their UK property funds to redemptions – commonly known as imposing a ‘gate’. This highlights why pension funds and other investors should pay careful attention to the gating provisions in fund documents, both before entering into an investment and as part of the … Continue Reading
Whilst it is too early to tell what the full implications of the Brexit vote will be, we have had a number of enquiries from clients asking what their duties are in relation to their investment strategy. We have therefore set out some general guidelines for action now and in the short to medium term. … Continue Reading
Following our earlier blog piece on the new requirement for UK limited companies (including pension trustee and employee benefit trust companies) to identify their “people with significant control” (PSCs), today is the day from which this information must start being made public at Companies House. The first step is to identify your PSCs (if you have … Continue Reading
Although we’re not in the business of crystal ball-gazing, here are some possible issues relating to Brexit and executive pay, particularly share-based remuneration, that we’d like to throw into the pot (unless that’s too much of a mixed metaphor). It seems unlikely that post-Brexit the UK would impose restrictions on overseas issuers offering their shares … Continue Reading
Just a quick reminder that the deadline for making annual returns for UK share schemes relating to the 2015/2016 tax year is 6 July 2016. For tax-advantaged share schemes: share incentive plans (otherwise known as SIPs); company share option plans (CSOPs); savings-related share option schemes (SAYE/Sharesave); and Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), if a new scheme … Continue Reading
The EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), which contains new rules about dealing in shares by directors and “persons discharging managerial responsibilities” (PDMRs), will come into force on 3 July 2016. Unlike the current rules, which are different for companies on the full list and those on AIM, the MAR will apply to all quoted companies. … Continue Reading
After weeks of media headlines criticising FTSE 100 executive remuneration, the Investment Association have finally pulled their rabbit from the hat! The nattily entitled “Executive Remuneration Working Group” set up last year under the auspices of the Investment Association (see our previous blog post) has published its Interim Report (which can be downloaded from the … Continue Reading
Until this week, the remuneration side of this year’s FTSE 100 reporting season was looking decidedly pedestrian, with deckchairs being shuffled ahead of the 2017 AGM season, when all of the remuneration policies that were approved at the 2014 AGMs are up for re-approval. The near 60% vote against the approval of BP’s Directors’ Remuneration … Continue Reading
“Code of practice no. 13: Governance and administration of occupational defined contribution trust-based schemes” may not be the most imaginative of titles, but to coin a popular phrase, “It does what it says on the tin”. It also sets out a vast number of ‘expectations’ to be placed upon trustees – we have counted 126 … Continue Reading
With over a third of the UK FTSE100 having published their DRRs, it looks like the trends identified in our post on 22 March are continuing. A really interesting question to look at, now that nearly half of the FTSE100 companies have published their reports, is whether all the new regulations and guidelines are changing … Continue Reading
Admittedly, it is still early days to asses what’s new in FTSE DRRs for the 2015 accounting period. Even so, it looks like this will be a slow year for developments in DRRs for medium and large listed companies. Of course, that’s probably not surprising. For a company to change its policy requires putting the … Continue Reading
What would be the effect of a Brexit on the UK pensions sector? The short answer is nobody really knows. Nobody can know, in fact, until the two-year exit negotiations have been concluded and, even then, one suspects that the nitty gritty detail will take years to work out thereafter. Let’s begin with what a … Continue Reading
In the last week, it has been reported that Standard Chartered has launched “accountability reviews” to discover whether bonuses can be recovered from any employees found to be responsible for breaches of compliance and risk-management rules. Apparently some bonuses have already been clawed back by the bank and it stated that it would do so … Continue Reading
At the beginning of the 2016 AGM season, there has been a 25.3% vote against Thomas Cook’s directors’ remuneration report. In its announcement, the company said “We have already engaged with certain shareholders to discuss their concerns, which relate to the timing of disclosure of EPS targets in respect of the long-term incentive plan and … Continue Reading
As we explained in our July 2015 article, the UK State Second Pension, and contracting-out, will be abolished from 6 April 2016. As a result, employer and member national insurance contributions will increase for schemes currently contracted-out on a salary related basis. Employers who sponsor such schemes have the power to amend the scheme rules … Continue Reading
One way or another, we’d expect remuneration committees of UK listed companies to be looking closely at their remuneration policies this year. Is your policy still fit for purpose? Most companies will need to put their remuneration policies to shareholders in 2017 and so discussions about whether the remuneration policy put in place in 2014 … Continue Reading
The tax consequences in Germany of a management participation plan are not clear. An employee holding an interest in their employer company may either be taxed on the basis of receiving income from their employment or from a capital asset. This results in different tax treatment. Last year the Fiscal Court of Cologne considered a case … Continue Reading
At the Autumn Statement last week the Government announced that it had responded to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) report on employment status originally published in March and it was “taking forward the majority of its recommendations”. Now, 9 months after the March report, a letter from HM Treasury has emerged indicating which of … Continue Reading
The UK government has announced today probably the longest awaited policy change in the LGPS investment world, with a proposal to remove the limits on asset allocation that have been in place since the 1980s. The consultation proposes moving to a prudential supervisory regime of the kind which has operated well in the private sector, as … Continue Reading
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recently published its summary of 2016 policy updates. The executive summary explains both how ISS has undertaken its review of global policies but more importantly summarises the key policy updates that will apply to companies from 1 February 2016. ISS will publish the full (or possibly summary!) additions, revisions and updates to the … Continue Reading
“Subrogation.” This is the last word a plaintiff in a personal injury action wants to hear. It refers to an insurance company’s right to stand in – or alongside – its insured’s shoes and seek recovery of money the insurance company has paid on behalf of its insured. While subrogation may sound like an abhorrent … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, the guidelines on executive remuneration (formerly known as the ABI guidelines) have now come under the auspices of the Investment Association (“IA”). As usual at this time of year, the guidelines (or principles, as we should now call them) have been dusted down. The only substantive change to the principles is that long-term incentives … Continue Reading
