Martin Cobb, manager on the Franklin Templeton Investments UK Equity OEIC says pension fund issues may cause considerable problems in evaluating UK companies.
The issue has been bought to a head with the recent collapse of an acquisition deal for newsagent WH Smith. The deal fell through when the bidder walked on finding out about company pension fund liabilities. ”I don’t know what to do about this,” Cobb says. The WH Smith case showed trustees to have powers most people thought they did not, Cobb adds, and he believes the issues raised by that case will rumble on in the investment community until new rules come in on A-Day. Otherwise, Cobb is also concerned about the UK “recovery” being put about by government, the Bank of England a...
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