Mapping your DB journey: investment insights

For defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, 2021 is already looking like a challenging environment. Here, you can watch our full Investment Conference session on mapping the DB journey amid these unpredictable markets.

Our first panellist, Senior Investment Consultant Jude Bennett, provided a high-level review on what aspects of investment strategy would have most influenced outcomes over 2020. This covered the challenges posed to trustees and scheme managers by the Covid-19 crisis, and what lessons can be drawn to help improve the resilience of schemes to future shocks.

Danielle Markham, head of our LDI team, followed on, talking about issues impacting on pension scheme’s risk reduction strategies. The potential for negative interest rates and the changes to RPI were explored, alongside the importance of having a robust collateral management framework in place, to help ensure that Liability Driven Investment strategies will hold up in volatile markets.

Our third speaker, Chris Pritchard from our Strategy Research team, covered the importance of prior preparation. Having a target in place, and a sensible plan for how you expect to progress towards that target would have helped make life a little easier for investors trying to navigate markets over the last 12 months. With the impact of the events of 2020 very much still being felt by us all, Chris provided a few valuable suggestions for your investment strategy in 2021 and beyond.