British pension funds are among the worst in developed economies for backing their home stock market, according to research that will fuel the debate about reform of UK retirement pots to boost the London Stock Exchange.
Only 4.4 per cent of assets in UK pension funds are invested in British equities, down from an estimated 6.1 per cent last year, analysis by New Financial, a think tank, has found. The proportion stood at more than 50 per cent 25 years ago.
It means that British schemes have the fourth lowest allocation to their domestic stock markets of 13 different pension systems assessed by the think tank. The United States topped the rankings with a 44 per cent domestic equity allocation, followed by Australia, at 24 per cent, and Hong Kong, at 22 per cent.
The report, which excluded UK personal pensions, will add to pressure to revamp retirement schemes as part of efforts to revitalise Britain’s faltering stock market. The…
