Schemes suffer funding level drop of 1.5 points in Q2

clock

Scheme funding levels fell by 1.5 percentage points over the second quarter, Investment Solutions research reveals.

The consultant said that, over the second quarter, scheme funding levels fell from 75.6% on 31 March to 74.1% on the 30 June.

It said the fall was due to a three percentage point increase in liability values - a decline offset by a 1.5 percentage point increase in asset values.

Investment Solutions said the increase in liabilities was due to falling gilt yields - yields which had dropped back as investors sought refuge in safe-haven investments such as index-linked and fixed UK government bonds following concerns around peripheral European debt, pushing up the prices of bonds. Increases in bond prices leads to falls in the yield on those bonds.

Despite this, it said equity markers had risen over the quarter - with the FTSE All Share index rising by 1.9% and MSCI World increasing by 0.5% in sterling terms over the period.

More on Investment

Partner Insight: A year in ABS investing: growth, resilience and the road ahead

Partner Insight: A year in ABS investing: growth, resilience and the road ahead

Seema Sopal, ABS Fund Manager, discusses how the team look to deliver resilient returns and uncover global opportunities, and how the market may develop for investors in the year ahead.

Royal London Asset Management
clock 01 May 2026 • 1 min read
Partner Insight: The role of asset-backed securities in pension scheme LDI portfolios

Partner Insight: The role of asset-backed securities in pension scheme LDI portfolios

Historically, the US securitised credit market has demonstrated strong risk-adjusted return outcomes, often decorrelated to traditional fixed income assets. When blended into LDI portfolios there is the opportunity to enhance collateral waterfall liquidity...

Luke Copley, Client Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income at Columbia Threadneedle Investments
clock 30 April 2026 • 5 min read
Schroders Capital commits over £100m on behalf of UK Innovation LTAF

Schroders Capital commits over £100m on behalf of UK Innovation LTAF

LTAF aims to facilitate DC scheme access to UK early-stage companies

Jonathan Stapleton
clock 29 April 2026 • 2 min read
Trustpilot