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The pension funds pledge looks like virtue-signalling – with a dash of adventurous arithmetic
May 13, 2025
|The Guardian
Terrific news, eh? UK pension funds have agreed to invest more assets in the UK, specifically in private markets, and specifically from their defined contribution (DC) schemes.
Most of the big names are on the list of signatories to the expanded Mansion House accord: Aviva, Legal & General, Phoenix and more. And they've agreed to do their patriotic duty on a voluntary basis. "I welcome this bold step by some of our biggest pension funds," declared the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
There is another way to view the fanfare. There are so many conditions attached to the "pledge" that this looks more like an exercise in virtue-signalling. It is not helped by the adventurous arithmetic behind the government's claim that the accord will "unlock up to £50bn" for the economy by 2030.
The first problem is the qualified nature of the pledge to invest 10% from default DC schemes into private assets (think infrastructure projects and unlisted companies) with half the slice going to UK assets.
هذه القصة من طبعة May 13, 2025 من The Guardian.
اشترك في Magzter GOLD للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة، وأكثر من 9000 مجلة وصحيفة.
هل أنت مشترك بالفعل؟ تسجيل الدخول
المزيد من القصص من The Guardian
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