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HM Treasury launches consultation to update the Myners principles
HM Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions and The Pensions Regulator (TPR), are today launching a consultation on updating the Myners principles, a voluntary set of 'comply or explain' principles designed to improve trustee investment decision-making and governance of pension funds.
The consultation responds to last year's National Association of Pension Fund (NAPF) review Institutional Investment in the UK: Six Years On, which recommended updating the Myners principles to ensure the continued spread of best practice among pension schemes.
The consultation proposes a set of refreshed and simplified, higher-level principles and the development of a comprehensive suite of authoritative best practice guidance and tools, which will help trustees to improve investment decision-making and governance.
Following the NAPF's recommendation that the pensions industry should take increased ownership of the principles, the consultation proposes establishing a joint Government-industry Investment Governance Group to co-own the principles, monitor their effectiveness and the quality of reporting against them, and make recommendations for improvements to investment decision-making and governance.
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Angela Eagle MP, said:
"Paul Myners' goal was that the principles should become the accepted code of best practice in investment decision-making and governance, with trustees transparently assessing their capacity and practice against them".
"The NAPF's review of the Myners principles is an important step towards that goal. The Government is taking forward the review's proposals to simplify and update the principles, and to improve reporting against them."
Minister of State for Pensions Reform, Mike O'Brien MP, said:
"The principles have already done much to help improve pension trustees' investment decision-making and governance, and this consultation aims to allow trustees to continue to build on that progress."
The Pensions Regulator's Chairman, David Norgrove, said:
"The proposed Investment Governance Group, which The Pensions Regulator would chair, will provide a forum for both industry and Government to work together to improve trustee investment decision-making and governance standards further."
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
1. The Myners principles are a voluntary set of 'comply or explain' principles designed to improve trustee investment decision-making and governance of pension funds. The principles stem from a review conducted by Paul Myners in 2001 of the efficiency of institutional investment decision-making.
2. Following a request from the Government, the NAPF were tasked with assessing the extent to which, six years on from their publication, pension fund trustees are applying the Myners principles; the extent to which scheme governance and the quality of trusteeship have improved; and whether key issues identified by the Treasury in 2004 had been addressed.
3. The Government welcomed the findings of significant progress in the application of the principles in the resulting NAPF review 'Institutional Investment in the UK: Six years on'. This can be found at: http://www.napf.co.uk
4. The Government consultation launched today proposes to adopt
the NAPF's recommended approach, subject to some changes,
ensuring the principles are more effective, by being less
prescriptive, and more likely to be used and reported against by
trustees. The consultation can be found at:http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consultations_and_legislation/consult_liveindex.cfm
The consultation closes on 23 June 2008.
5. Non-media enquiries should be addressed to the Treasury Correspondence and Enquiry Unit on 020 7270 4558, or by email to public.enquiries@hm-treasury.gov.uk
6. This press release and other Treasury publication and information are available on the Treasury website. If you would like Treasury press releases to be sent to you automatically by email you can subscribe to this service from the press release site on the website.
