Pension funds in the UK to claim back GBP1.4 billion in damages
October 8 2010, 11:02 amPublished by pensions.co.uk: 8th October 2010
UK pension funds are expected to recoup GBP1.4 billion in class action lawsuits in the US after losses suffered during the financial crisis, it has been revealed. The study, by the GOAL Group, reported that pension funds in North Europe lost a total of GBP51 billion on their US investments in 2008, of which GBP21 billion was attributable to UK pension schemes.
GOAL has called for pension schemes to ensure they don’t lose out on GBP368 million of recoverable funds if they don’t take part in the class actions. It commented “This is a wake-up call to pension funds that are currently missing out on their legal right to claim damages through the US courts.”
Pension schemes such as the West Midlands Pension Fund have so far been able to recover some monies owed, with the local authority fund receiving GBP567,000 in class actions to date. Tony Doyle, the authority’s senior investment manager, equities &corporate governance , said “We perceive poor governance as a risk to a fund’s long-term financial interests. The fund therefore submits class actions globally where it believes that it has suffered a financial loss through fraudulent or irresponsible corporate behaviour.”
Also, in March last year, the Merseyside and North Yorkshire pension funds filed a motion to be lead plaintiffs in a securities class action in the US against the Royal Bank of Scotland , while the Avon Pension Fund was also granted status of lead plaintiff in a case against GlaxoSmithKline .
