By Steve Goldstein
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Saturday said U.K. pensions will have to disclose how much they have invested domestically, in a move meant to boost the faltering U.K. stock market.
Under the plan, defined contribution funds by 2027 will have to disclose their level of investment in British businesses, as well as their costs and net investment returns. Hunt said the proposal will first be reviewed by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Pension funds also will have to disclose how they performed against competitor funds, and regulators will be able to block funds performing poorly from taking on new business, under the proposal.
The chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, Julia Hoggett, backed the move. “Investing in UK companies ultimately benefits those companies and the returns they are delivering, which supports the economy and the country in which pension holders live, to everyone’s benefit and in everyone’s interest,” she said in a statement.
Companies including CRH (CRH) and FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) have or are in the process of moving their primary listing from the U.K. to the U.S., as British chip designer ARM Holdings (ARM)opted for a New York listing upon its return to the stock market.
Charles Hall, head of research at Peel Hunt, said the U.K. has become an “orphan market” as pension funds have allocated just 4% of assets to U.K.-listed companies, down from 44% in 1998. Hall in a note on Friday had advocated for pension funds to disclose their U.K. investments, along with steps Hunt has not taken, such as reducing capital gains tax on British investments.
-Steve Goldstein
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03-02-24 0636ET
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