Blog: What can pension funds learn from BP crisis?

BP announced last night it will scrap its dividend for 2010 as it has to put $20bn (£13.5bn) in a compensation fund for victims of the spill. This is a major blow for DC and DB pension schemes invested in a typical FTSE 100 UK equities mandate. They hold as much as 8% of their portfolio in the oil giant's shares - and are estimated to receive as much as £1 in £6 of their UK equity dividend income from the company. Yet, rather than blaming US president Barack Obama for hurting UK pensioners through his attacks on BP, we should instead be thinking about why so many pension schemes have ...