Asset managers should “not even think about” passing on the cost of forthcoming financial market regulation to pension schemes, a chief investment officer (CIO) has warned.
Mike Weston, CIO at the £2bn Daily Mail and General Trust pension schemes and vice chairman of the NAPF DB council, fired the warning at the asset management community while discussing the impact of forthcoming financial regulation, including the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID) and Solvency II, on pension funds.
He said: “We don’t know how much fund management costs us now, let alone incremental costs of regulation. Please don’t think about passing these marginal costs on to us, they have to be absorbed by you.”
“The days when these would be passed on with no comment has gone.”
In the same session, Sackers associate director and derivative specialist Sebastian Reger said he was sceptical about the ability for regulators to properly regulate financial markets because they are “complex, dynamic and international”.
He said 39 regulatory measures had been put in place to reform the market since 2007 and 37 of these were underway with two yet to start – including revisions to the IORP directive through Solvency II.
A vote among audience members revealed 64% viewed Solvency II as the biggest concern to their scheme.
Delegate Howard Brindle, chief operating officer at the Universities Superannuation Scheme, said his scheme has a deficit of around £6.5bn which could potentially hit £30-40bn if Solvency II was implemented.
“Direct infrastructure we view as a safe, steady asset but Solvency II doesn’t so there are a number of challenges for a scheme with a large covenant. Mark to market takes away some of the long-term benefit pension funds offer.”
The EU has currently shelved plans to implement the Holistic Balance Sheet, but NAPF chairman Ruston Smith warned delegates in his opening speech that it was “still looming” as a threat to UK pensions.
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