Innovative models of pension fund governance in the context of the global financial crisis.

The global financial crisis has posed profound threats to pension welfare worldwide. This is particularly so in the United Kingdom with the closure of private defined benefit plans, and the heavy losses experienced by many defined contribution pension plan participants. Meeting these challenges has...

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Main Authors: Clark, G, Urwin, R
פורמט: Journal article
שפה:English
יצא לאור: Palgrave Macmillan 2010
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author Clark, G
Urwin, R
author_facet Clark, G
Urwin, R
author_sort Clark, G
collection OXFORD
description The global financial crisis has posed profound threats to pension welfare worldwide. This is particularly so in the United Kingdom with the closure of private defined benefit plans, and the heavy losses experienced by many defined contribution pension plan participants. Meeting these challenges has placed a premium on plan governance, given its link to fund performance. This paper begins by considering the academic literature on institutional change, including an analysis of the most common ways of responding to a changing environment. It is noted that the nature and scope of institutional response to a changing environment depends, in part, upon funds’ governance budgets, including time, expertise and common commitment. Our research on UK governance suggests that incremental adaptation has been the operative strategy augmented, in some cases, by the adoption of UK corporate governance practices. Three types of innovation in the governance of UK pension plans are identified: the transformation of decision-making, the pension buy-out and fiduciary management alongwith an emerging ‘new’ model of pension fund governance. In the penultimate section of this paper, lessons from UK best practice are drawn for institutions that face unprecedented challenges in realising the pension promise. Thereafter, we suggest a possible approach for regulators to strengthen the pension fund sector, based on improved disclosure, independent board chairs and the skills of board members.
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spelling oxford-uuid:91e7531f-a7dc-483c-b84a-3f1e89ec569b2022-03-26T23:21:45ZInnovative models of pension fund governance in the context of the global financial crisis.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:91e7531f-a7dc-483c-b84a-3f1e89ec569bEnglishDepartment of Economics - ePrintsPalgrave Macmillan2010Clark, GUrwin, RThe global financial crisis has posed profound threats to pension welfare worldwide. This is particularly so in the United Kingdom with the closure of private defined benefit plans, and the heavy losses experienced by many defined contribution pension plan participants. Meeting these challenges has placed a premium on plan governance, given its link to fund performance. This paper begins by considering the academic literature on institutional change, including an analysis of the most common ways of responding to a changing environment. It is noted that the nature and scope of institutional response to a changing environment depends, in part, upon funds’ governance budgets, including time, expertise and common commitment. Our research on UK governance suggests that incremental adaptation has been the operative strategy augmented, in some cases, by the adoption of UK corporate governance practices. Three types of innovation in the governance of UK pension plans are identified: the transformation of decision-making, the pension buy-out and fiduciary management alongwith an emerging ‘new’ model of pension fund governance. In the penultimate section of this paper, lessons from UK best practice are drawn for institutions that face unprecedented challenges in realising the pension promise. Thereafter, we suggest a possible approach for regulators to strengthen the pension fund sector, based on improved disclosure, independent board chairs and the skills of board members.
spellingShingle Clark, G
Urwin, R
Innovative models of pension fund governance in the context of the global financial crisis.
title Innovative models of pension fund governance in the context of the global financial crisis.
title_full Innovative models of pension fund governance in the context of the global financial crisis.
title_fullStr Innovative models of pension fund governance in the context of the global financial crisis.
title_full_unstemmed Innovative models of pension fund governance in the context of the global financial crisis.
title_short Innovative models of pension fund governance in the context of the global financial crisis.
title_sort innovative models of pension fund governance in the context of the global financial crisis
work_keys_str_mv AT clarkg innovativemodelsofpensionfundgovernanceinthecontextoftheglobalfinancialcrisis
AT urwinr innovativemodelsofpensionfundgovernanceinthecontextoftheglobalfinancialcrisis