MEMORANDUM TO EXPLAIN THE REVISED REGULATION 28. It is necessary, therefore, to review Regulation 28.

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1 MEMORANDUM TO EXPLAIN THE REVISED REGULATION Introduction Regulation 28 to the Pension Funds Act imposed limits on the investments of retirement funds. These were intended to protect funds against making imprudent investments once the requirement to invest in prescribed assets had fallen away. Over the past few years, the investment avenues available to retirement funds have become significantly more complicated with the incorporation of derivatives, structured products and foreign investments over which the trustees may have no control in terms of the sectors in which the foreign investment manager invests. Many of these new types of investment are not included in Regulation 28 as it stands today. The exclusion of insurance policies which incorporate a guarantee from the present Regulation 28 allows insurers to offer products which may enable trustees to exceed the limits presently prescribed in Regulation 28. It is necessary, therefore, to review Regulation 28. The Pensions Advisory Committee therefore authorised the setting up of a subcommittee under the chairmanship of the Chief Actuary. Participation was invited from major stakeholders and retirement fund practitioners, namely, Business South Africa, Cosatu, Fedusa, Institute of Retirement Funds, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, Actuarial Society of South Africa, Institute of Pension Consultants and Administrators and the Pension Lawyers Association. This proposal represents the work of that sub-committee. 2. The need for prudential investment regulation The investment of the assets of the fund is one of the most critical of all the management functions carried out by the trustees. Particularly now that most members belong to defined contribution funds in which the investment risk is carried by members, most members will experience, directly, any losses suffered, or lower than average returns earned, by the fund. We have a wide range of retirement funds in South Africa measured in many different ways: by size of assets, by type of fund, by number of members, and by the financial sophistication of trustees and their advisors. Many trustees are newly appointed and have received only modest education on their duties. R28_0508.doc 1

2 A strong argument can, therefore, be made that such trustees should be guided in the investment of funds. It is how best to do this that is contentious. 3. Regulation 28, as currently written, is ineffective The current regulation Regulation 28 prescribes maxima for various types of investment that may be made by a retirement fund. They are intended to guide funds which invest in their own name. The maxima relate to the fair value of the assets of the fund under the direct control of the trustees, and exclude from consideration! insurance policies! that provide any form of guarantee, or! where performance is linked to the performance of underlying assets and the investment of the underlying assets conforms to the requirements of regulation 28, and! unit trusts which conform to the requirements of regulation 28. The maxima are broadly:! No more than 75% may be invested in equities! No more than 25% may be invested in property! No more than 90% may be invested in a combination of equities and property! No more than 5% may be invested in the sponsoring employer! No more than 15% may be invested in a large capitalisation listed equity, and 10% in any single other equity! No more than 20% may be invested with any single bank! No more than 15% may be invested off-shore! No more than 2,5% may be invested in other assets. Derivative instruments are not defined, leaving them to fall within this other assets category. There is provision for the Registrar to exempt funds from some or all of these maxima on prior written application Problems with the current regulation The prescription of a set of maxima does not, in itself, guide trustees. Trustees are not told how to go about determining what they should do, in their particular circumstances, in order to achieve their objectives. There is no requirement to consult anyone, much less an expert. In many cases, there is no independent check on whether their selected strategy is appropriate to their objectives. Trustees can adopt a completely inappropriate investment strategy provided the maxima in the regulation are not exceeded. R28_0508.doc 2

3 In fact, using the innovative products developed by insurers and others they can bypass the regulations with impunity. If any member wanted to challenge the investment decisions of the trustees, the member would have a difficult task to establish their failure to exercise their fiduciary duties. In particular: (a) The regulations allow up to 100% to be invested in fixed interest stock, which could be disastrous from the perspective of matching the liabilities. A complete failure to inflation hedge might result. Fixed interest investments are not necessarily less risky than equities: their market value has moved in as volatile a fashion as the equity market over the last few years. (b) The one size fits all approach in the existing Regulation 28 has encouraged fund managers to adopt a fairly uniform approach to the investment of fund assets, across all the funds that they administer, despite individual differences between funds and within the same fund at different times depending on its financial position and the make-up of its liabilities. The result has been 60% to 70% of funds assets being invested in equities, in order that the investment manager maintains a reasonable position in the performance surveys. Such surveys relate to market performance, despite recognition that it would be more appropriate to set benchmarks for individual funds depending on their specific circumstances and measure performance against such benchmarks. (c) The prevention of investment of more than 75% in equities may be imprudent for some funds or individual members in certain situations. The herd instinct which has resulted from the regulations may cause too much to be invested in equities in other situations. (d) The one size fits all approach will certainly be inappropriate to an individual member. (e) Regulation 28 does not cover derivatives (except to the extent that they fall within the 2,5% for other assets ) and structured products, which are becoming increasingly common in South Africa as South Africa is opened up to international financial services organisations. Such structured products may convert income into capital gains. (f) Various factors enable insurers to offer products which bypass the regulations: (i) Regulation 28 (to the Pension Funds Act) excludes policies once they include a guarantee, no matter how insignificant the guarantee is, and (ii) The corresponding regulation for the Long Term Insurance Act excludes from the corresponding prudential regulations any policies whose performance is linked to the performance of underlying assets. If a R28_0508.doc 3

4 (iii) guarantee is provided through a combination of derivatives and direct investments in such a way that the value of the policy relates directly to the performance of the underlying assets, the policy will be a linked policy and will fall outside the prudential regulation of the investment of insurers. This linked performance will similarly apply where a bank sells the structured product in the form of an unlisted preference share which is redeemable at a fixed future date at a price dependent upon the performance of an index. When combined with (i), the insurer can offer a product which incorporates a guarantee, escaping Regulation 28, but which is linked and therefore escapes the prudential requirements for the insurer itself. If the insurer has other clients who have not taken up their overall potential to invest off-shore, they can offer retirement funds proportions of foreign investment up to 100% provided they include a guarantee as in (i). (g) More and more, defined contribution funds are offering at least some of their members a degree of choice over where their assets are invested. It is then difficult to consolidate such investments at fund level. In the case of at least one major insurer who is offering individual choice through policies issued to the fund in respect of individual members, it is impossible to categorise these policies in a manner which is consistent with regulation 28. The Registrar is facing an appeal to the Appeal Board for refusing to grant such fund an exemption from regulation 28. However individual choice is achieved, the duties required of trustees must be clarified. In particular, it is desirable to establish the degree to which the trustees must ensure that members are educated before offering individual choice. 4. What is good about the regulations? The regulations have prevented too much being invested in any single investment (with the exception of Government stock which carries a guarantee, anyway). This is valid and should be preserved. 5. An alternative approach The trustees must be encouraged to consider the risks involved and develop a prudent overall philosophy for the fund s assets regardless of the type of investment manager. It is essential, therefore, that the gaps are filled, and any revised regulation includes investments with insurers within comparable regulations to investments registered in the name of the fund. The revised regulation must be flexible to allow for (very rapid) new product development, as well as individual fund and member circumstances. Individual investment choice must be covered. R28_0508.doc 4

5 There should be scope to accommodate the small fund which will invest in a pooled portfolio either with an insurer or a unit trust. After considering the issues, the sub-committee has recommended replacing the existing regulation with a process. This has been embodied in the attached draft regulation in place of the existing faulty regulation A Process. The draft regulation requires that a process is adopted which will give rise to an investment strategy specific to the fund in question and the appointment of investment managers who will implement the strategy, and places an onus on the trustees to monitor performance and regularly review the strategy. Compliance must be reported to the registrar. Trustees should seek professional advice, as few trustees will have the expertise to set a strategy without expert assistance. The registrar has the right to exempt funds, on prior written application, from the requirements of the regulation. The registrar intends to apply the full extent of the regulation to private funds or funds which have been exempted in terms of section 2(3)(a)(ii) of the Act and which include more than 150 members. Smaller auditexempt funds, which use the investment portfolio of an insurer which best fits their investment strategy, will find that they can abbreviate the strategy document but still follow the process. The result will be a short statement which is still compliant with the regulation. Where exemption is sought, exemption will usually be granted for a period of three years only, renewable on subsequent certification by the actuary that the strategy remains appropriate. 7. Macro-economic Policy. Government may wish to impose certain restrictions on retirement fund investment, either to achieve overall social or economic policy objectives, or in the management of the country s foreign exchange reserves. These restrictions will be inserted into sub-regulation (3) as special limits where appropriate. In developed economies it is unusual for retirement funds to invest more than 30% to 40% of their total equity holding (which will seldom exceed 80% of the fair value of all the assets of the fund) in foreign equities. We therefore propose to limit foreign investments to 30% of the value of domestic liabilities plus 100% of any foreign liabilities. R28_0508.doc 5

6 8. Cost / Benefit Analysis Application of a Process to establish, maintain and review an Investment Strategy Costs Benefits Direct costs to trustees Where trustees invest the fund s assets in accordance with a strategy, even though the latter might have been established in discussion with the investment manager rather than formalised in a document, the only additional costs will be documentation of the process and certification of compliance. We estimate the costs to be Document strategy (initially) R1500 Certify compliance (annually) R1000 Monitor performance (annually) R15000 where the fund invests itself Nil where the fund invests in a pooled portfolio, although the costs of the pooled portfolio are expected to rise because the investment manager must supply additional information on their strategy and performance, but the costs of this will be spread across all participants. Where there is no strategy now, the trustees will have to develop one in consultation with whoever is investing the fund s moneys. We envisage that these investment managers will assist trustees through making the expertise available to assist them to draft the strategy at minimal cost. Direct benefits to trustees The trustees will have applied their minds to develop an appropriate strategy, after consulting experts, taking account of the fund s particular circumstances. Trustees will be able to demonstrate improved governance, and will be able to protect themselves against a challenge that they have not exercised their fiduciary duties properly. This might save the trustees legal costs and the opportunity cost of appearing before the Pension Funds Adjudicator and the Courts. Performance monitoring will be more scientific (as the benchmark will suit the circumstances of the fund) and the choice of investment manager / portfolio should better suit the fund. This should show in a higher risk / reward measure. The cost of compliance with Regulation 28 as currently constituted will fall away. This will apply mostly to the FSB staff, as compliance to the fund s strategy must still be checked. There could therefore be some cost savings in terms of FSB levies and auditor costs. R28_0508.doc 6

7 to member: Where the contribution rate includes expenses, under a defined contribution scheme, the portion of the member s contribution that will be invested will be reduced by the additional costs spread across all members. In the case of investment in pooled portfolios, which should apply to all small funds and large funds where the members are exercising individual choice into pooled portfolios, the additional cost per member will be small. Where the fund manages its own investments and must monitor performance against complex benchmarks, the cost to members will also be small provided the asset base is sufficiently large. to employer: Where the employer pays the costs in addition to the defined contribution, if any, the employer will bear the additional costs as stated against the trustees above. to member: Members are more likely to achieve a real return of appropriate magnitude, with adequate protection for retired members or members close to retirement, under defined contribution schemes. The downside potential is also likely to be managed appropriately, even if this means sacrificing some of the upside potential. Under defined benefit schemes, the strategy is likely to better suit the fund, leading to lower risk to the employer and additional security for the members. The member will be better able to seek legal recourse against imprudent trustees because the process sets out more clearly what trustees should do, and, if they do not adhere to it, the trustees will be in breach of their fiduciary duties. The member will be able to sue them individually as well as in their representative capacity. to employer: Defined contribution funds: The employer should have greater peace of mind knowing that the fund is managing its risk appropriately. Defined benefit funds: The better the investment performance relative to the experience of the liabilities, the lower the long term cost to the employer. To FSB: Through electronic scanning of financial statements the FSB should be able to identify funds with abnormal investment spreads. These can then be followed up individually. To FSB: There will be less manipulation of products to achieve compliance with regulation. This should make supervision simpler. R28_0508.doc 7

8 Indirect to fund / employer: All funds will need more formalised performance monitoring. Pooled portfolio managers will have to communicate their strategies and performance. This may increase investment management costs slightly. Indirect to member: The compliance officer should identify any extraordinary strategies or deviation from a previously agreed strategy. He or she should then alert the trustees. This could prevent some investment problems before they become crises. The process will contribute to the education of the trustees and ultimately the members. Particularly where there is individual choice, the process will force investment managers to publicise their strategy and trustees to monitor performance against this strategy. This should improve fund governance and contribute to investor education. The cost / benefit analysis is acceptable for large funds. The exemption process set out for small funds in the guidance note modifies this to create an acceptable regime for small funds which invest in pooled portfolios. 9. Recommendation The process suggested will provide better protection for members and better guidance for trustees as to how they should invest the moneys. The costs are acceptable for large funds which invest their own moneys, because the additional costs are primarily the costs of documenting compliance with a process they will already be following. For small funds, costs will be acceptable provided they remain within pooled portfolios. Individual choice is considered for the first time, making trustees responsible to ensure that members exercising individual choice are educated or have access to advice, as well as to monitor performance against the strategy identified by the investment manager in advance. This tightens regulation without making it unreasonable for the trustees or investment professionals. R28_0508.doc 8

9 DRAFT REGULATION 28 (to replace the existing Regulation 28) Limits relating to assets in which a registered fund may invest 28 (1) The board of each registered fund shall invest the assets of the fund in accordance with an investment strategy established, monitored, reviewed and reported on as set out in subregulation (2), provided that the limits established in subregulation (3) are not exceeded. (2) The investment strategy must be determined, monitored, reviewed and reported on in accordance with the following process: (a) The board shall establish an investment strategy (i) This investment strategy must take due account of the objectives of stakeholders the nature and term of the liabilities the funding methods used in the fund, including, in the case of a defined contribution fund, any smoothing of investment returns accrued to individual member accounts, and the risks to which the assets and the liabilities of the fund will be exposed. (ii) The strategy must set out what percentages of the total fair value of the total assets of the fund may be invested in various classes and categories of asset, and what powers the investment manager will have to diverge from these percentages with, or without, the consent of the board. (iii) The strategy should include the criteria with which investment managers shall be selected and the manner in which, and the frequency with which, their performance will be assessed. (iv) The board shall consult experts with sufficient skill and experience to advise the board on an appropriate investment strategy, unless the board, itself, includes members with sufficient skill and experience to perform such function. (b) (c) The actuary to the fund must confirm that he or she is satisfied that the strategy is consistent with the objectives of the fund and the management of the risks to which the fund is exposed, and will result in an appropriate relationship between the assets and the liabilities. Where the fund will hold investments in its own name, the board must select investment managers who are competent to carry out their strategy. Where the fund will invest in either a collective investment scheme, or a policy of insurance, the board should select a collective investment scheme or investment portfolio offered by an insurer such that the R28_0508.doc 9

10 investment strategy of the collective investment scheme or investment portfolio will satisfy the strategy determined by the trustees. (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) In selecting an investment manager, collective investment scheme, or insurance policy, the board members and any advisors assisting them should disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest, including any benefit that will be derived personally or by their employer as a result of the actual or potential placement of the investments of the fund. The board shall monitor the performance of the investment manager, including compliance with the mandate, using the methods and frequency set out in the strategy. The board shall review the investment strategy either when there is a material change to the fund or in anticipation of a major change, or, failing such a change, on at least an annual basis. For the purpose of this subregulation, a material change to the fund will be a significant change in the membership of the fund or a significant change in the benefit structure or a significant change in the asset and / or liability values as a result of movement in the market or the transfer of assets and / or liabilities between funds or a change in valuation assumptions which has resulted in a material change to the actuarial values of either the assets or the liabilities. The board shall appoint a compliance officer who may be an official of the fund, such as the principal officer, or a consultant to the fund (provided such consultant is independent of the investment manager), or the auditor, or an official working for the administrator of the fund, provided that the board is satisfied that the compliance officer has the required skills and expertise to perform such a function in a responsible manner. The compliance officer shall report annually to the registrar providing the following information: (i) the split of assets by class of asset in the format prescribed in Annexure A to Schedule I, distinguishing between Local Investments and Investments Outside RSA with an explanation of where the asset composition is not in accordance with the strategy, if this is applicable. (ii) whether the investments are being managed in accordance with the strategy, including confirming that the trustees are monitoring the performance of the investment managers; (iii) confirmation that the trustees have reviewed the strategy with their professional advisors, including the fund s actuary, and the fund s actuary remains satisfied with the appropriateness of the strategy R28_0508.doc 10

11 taking account of the risks to which the fund is exposed, the way in which the fund is managed, and the objectives of stakeholders. (i) The board shall report the strategy, in summary form, to the members in such a way that a typical member will be able to understand the objectives set for the investment manager and will be able to reconcile these objectives with the overall investment strategy set by the board. (j) Where the board offers all, or some, members choice over the investment medium in which those particular members interest in the fund shall be invested, the board shall ensure that (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) any members who are offered choice over the investment medium in which their interest in the fund is invested either have the skills and expertise to manage such choice themselves, or have access to advisors who have such skills and expertise and who will advise the members on their choice of investment medium, provided that this requirement shall not apply where all the following conditions are satisfied:! continued employment by a particular employer is not a condition of membership of the fund,! the member requests individual choice of investment portfolio, and! the member indemnifies the board against any diminution of his or her investment account as a result of an inappropriate selection of investment portfolios; the investment portfolios in which members may invest are selected because the portfolios have strategies which are consistent with those that the trustees feel may be appropriate to members of different risk profiles and ages, or which offer members the opportunity to combine in such a way that an appropriate individual strategy may be matched; the strategies adopted by the investment managers in respect of each such investment portfolio are explained to members in language that they can reasonably understand; the performance of each investment portfolio is monitored and compared with criteria established by the board prior to appointment of the investment manager in a manner consistent with that set out in (e) above. in case any members who are entitled to select their investment portfolio do not exercise a choice, the board must establish a default investment option in which the fund will invest those R28_0508.doc 11

12 members interests in the fund. Such default option may include a range of investment options depending on factors such as the age of the member. (vi) if an investment manager is not adhering to the strategy notified to the board and the members, the appointment of the investment manager is reviewed by the board and, if they decide to retain the investment portfolio as an option for members, members are informed of the failure to adhere to the strategy set out, and are invited to review their selection of investment portfolio. Where the board does not retain the investment portfolio as a permitted investment option, they shall transfer members interests in that portfolio to another portfolio of the member s choice, failing which, to the default portfolio. (k) The registrar may on prior written application by a fund grant such fund exemption from any of the provisions of this subregulation upon such conditions as he may impose. (3) (i) The fair value of any single investment at the date of purchase of the investment shall not exceed the following percentages of the total fair value of the total assets of the fund, as determined within one month of the date of purchase of the investment: (a) if the investment is in quoted shares of a listed company with a market capitalisation of R2 billion or more, 5% (b) where the fund is established for the benefit of employees of a sponsoring employer, if the investment is a loan to the sponsoring employer, or an investment in the shares of the sponsoring employer, or some combination of loan and purchase of shares, 5% (c) otherwise, 2,5%. For the purpose of this sub-regulation, sponsoring employer means! the company for whom the member works, where only one company participates in a fund;! any company within a group, where group describes a company and its subsidiaries (where the company owns at least 50% of the subsidiary), or all companies with a common holding company, and the employee works for one of the companies in such group. (ii) (iii) The fair value of foreign investments shall not exceed 30%of the value of the South African liabilities of the fund plus 100% of the value of any foreign liabilities of the fund. The registrar may on prior written application by a fund grant such fund exemption from any of the provisions of this subregulation upon such conditions as he may impose. R28_0508.doc 12

13 (iv) In this regulation, fair value in relation to (a) the value of every listed asset, means the price at which it was quoted on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange or the Bond Exchange of South Africa within a period of three months immediately preceding the date on which the value is being determined, provided that this amount shall be adjusted in the case of (i) any interest-bearing asset, by the difference between the amount of the interest which had accrued in the period from the last date on which interest was payable up to the date of the quotation, and the amount of interest accrued for the period to the date on which the value is being determined; and (ii) any share on which dividends have been declared, by the difference between the amount of any dividend which had been declared but not paid on the date of the quotation and the amount of any dividend which had been declared but not paid on the date on which the value is being determined. (b) the value of other assets, the value determined in accordance with section 19(5A) of the Act. The definition of fair value applies mutatis mutandis to investments outside the Republic and in such application the reference to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange or the Bond Exchance of South Africa in paragraph (i) must be construed as a reference to any exchange recognised by the registrar and the reference to the Republic in section 19(5A) of the Act as a reference to any territory recognised by the registrar. R28_0508.doc 13

14 DRAFT PF Circular to Consultants who advise funds on their investment strategy. (to be issued coincident with the issue of the revised Regulation 28) 1. Scope. Actuaries and other professionals may be asked to advise retirement fund trustees on an appropriate investment strategy. This circular is intended to assist such consultants in the performance of this function, and is intended to represent best practice. 2. Background. The revised Regulation 28 requires the trustees to establish an investment strategy, select investment managers, monitor performance and periodically review the strategy. Section 3 sets out draft content for such a strategy. The explanatory memorandum identifies the possibility that small funds could apply for exemption from all or some of the provisions of Regulation 28, supported by a certificate from the actuary. Section 4 sets out matters which the actuary must consider prior to issuing such a certificate. 3. Investment Strategy Investment Objectives The trustees should, with the assistance of the investment advisor and actuary, identify the risks which are most critical to the fund, taking account of the nature of the liabilities, and set clearly defined and measurable objectives for each such risk. In advising the trustees on these risks, the actuary / consultant must take account of the way in which the fund is managed, particularly in the case of a defined contribution fund any intention to smooth investment returns accrued to member accounts, as well as the reasonable benefit expectations of members Objectives are likely to deal with the following issues: Diversification of investments Volatility of investment returns Real returns (ie. investment performance relative to price inflation) Asset failure (particularly that associated with the employer sponsoring the fund) R28_0508.doc 14

15 Liquidity (ie. having sufficient assets readily available to meet benefit payments and any transfers to other funds as they fall due) Preservation of the value of capital for members near retirement Currency and market risks associated with foreign investment Derivative exposure Pension conversion risk (ie. a change in the cost of securing a pension on retirement will not be matched by a corresponding change in the value of the account used to purchase the pension) Investable Asset Classes, Categories and Limits Consideration of these objectives may give rise to constraints on investment in certain classes or categories of investment, or to limits on such classes or categories, in order to achieve adequate diversification and protect the fund against overlarge exposure to individual investments: Where investments are held directly by the scheme: The strategy document should list all asset classes and categories that the fund can invest in, and any limits on such investments, such as the maximum proportion by value of the fund that could be placed in a particular class, category or single investment The document should address the treatment, in particular, of Direct property investments Unlisted securities and other investment vehicles Derivative instruments (futures and option contracts, etc.) Pooled investment vehicles (insurance policy, unit trust and hedge fund investments) Investments outside the Republic of South Africa Investment in vehicles where the objectives are wider than the maximisation of performance, such as socially desirable investments R28_0508.doc 15

16 Investment in assets / products associated with the sponsoring employer Investment in assets / products associated with the investment advisor Investment in structured products and insurance products where termination conditions may inhibit realisation of the proceeds In order to achieve adequate diversification, the investment strategy should stipulate the minimum number of counters that the fund has to hold, and a maximum investment in any single investment. In placing limits on such classes or categories of investment, the trustees should take account of The nature of the fund (for example, defined benefit or defined contribution) Any statutory requirements The funding position (ie. the degree of surplus present in the fund) The reasons for, and desirability of, any limits placed on asset classes or categories Where investments are held through pooled portfolios: The investment manager should determine an investment strategy similar in format to the above. Such a strategy will not relate to the circumstances of a single investor, but to more than one investor The trustees should satisfy themselves that the investment strategy document for the pooled portfolio is consistent with the fund s investment strategy Criteria for the Selection of Investment Managers The trustees should agree criteria to be used when appointing investment managers, taking into account: Financial strength and reputation of the investment managers Track record R28_0508.doc 16

17 Experience in managing assets with a particular mandate in place Investment style and philosophy Performance Management Criteria Performance of the fund and achievement of the investment objectives, as well as compliance by the investment manager with the mandate, should be monitored on a regular basis according to the criteria set in the following areas: 3.5. Communication Risk and return performance targets, which might differ over short term and long term periods Intervals over which performance will be assessed Method of evaluation Action to be taken if performance targets are not achieved The document should set out the method of communicating performance to the trustees, including both written reports and audiovisual presentations 3.6. Review The strategy document should include provisions for regular review of the strategy Disclosure Within any fund there is a potential for conflict of interest to arise. The following principles should be followed to ensure that any conflict of interest is disclosed: Each trustee should disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest as far as the investments of the fund s assets are concerned on an annual basis. If there is no such conflict to disclose, a suitable declaration should be made by the trustee. R28_0508.doc 17

18 declare any financial gain, direct or indirect, accruing as a result of the investment strategy of the fund Each advisor to the fund, including both the investment consultant and the actuary where the actuary is involved in the selection of investment managers or the giving of investment advice, should declare any financial interest, either direct or indirect, accruing to him / her or to his / her employer as a result of the investment strategy followed by the fund declare the level of his / her independence in giving investment advice on an annual basis All disclosure statements should be retained in the Register of Disclosures which should be available at any trustee meeting. 4. Applications for Exemption from some of the requirements of Regulation The investment strategy approach was designed to accommodate large funds which hold their own investments. It is practicable for umbrella funds. Such funds should not seek exemption The approach may be impractical for small free-standing funds which are administered by insurers, and are therefore audit exempt under section 2(3)(a) of the Pension Funds Act. Many of the latter funds will be defined contribution funds that operate in so systemised a manner that they are exempt from actuarial valuation. An abbreviated approach may be necessary in such cases A small fund which has no choice but to invest with the administering insurer usually still has choice between a range of investment portfolios offered by the insurer. It is therefore reasonable to expect the trustees to determine a strategy taking account of the particular circumstances of the fund, and to select the investment portfolio which has a strategy that best fits their strategy. They will still need to seek expert advice in selecting the strategy and the portfolio. They will need to monitor the investment portfolio performance and review whether they should remain invested in it (albeit if they wish to move outside the range of investment portfolios offered by the insurer they will have to move to another insurer). They will still need to periodically review their strategy. Trustees and advisors must still disclose any conflict of interest with regard to the investment portfolios on offer from the insurer. It seems reasonable therefore in such a case to limit the strategy document to R28_0508.doc 18

19 An examination of the risks to which the fund is exposed taking account of the way in which it will be managed and the reasonable benefit expectations of members, and the determination of a strategy to manage these risks. Professional help will be required in drafting such a strategy Selection of an investment portfolio which has a strategy that best fits the fund s strategy Setting out how performance will be communicated to the trustees and what steps they will take to monitor performance against criteria set down in their strategy A commitment to review regularly Disclosure of any interest that the trustees or advisors might have in the different choices the fund may adopt. This will then constitute an abbreviated strategy document. Exemption from the regulation is not required. Rather the registrar will accept abbreviated documentation for funds which invest in pooled investment portfolios run by insurers or investment managers. Compliance must still be reported. R28_0508.doc 19