[1andrew1]

UK pension funds sell assets and tap employers in rush for cash

Forced selling aimed at meeting collateral calls as crisis continues to roil markets

UK pension schemes are dumping stocks and bonds to raise cash and seeking bailouts from their corporate backers as the crisis in the industry continues to rage a week after the government’s “mini” Budget.

Most of the UK’s 5,200 defined benefit schemes use derivatives to hedge against moves in interest rates and inflation, which require cash collateral to be added depending on market moves.

The sharp fall in the price of 30-year government bonds, triggered by last week’s tax cut announcement, led to unprecedented margin calls, or demands for more cash.

High-grade corporate bonds denominated in sterling have come under severe selling pressure, with yields soaring 1 percentage point since the UK fiscal package was announced to 6.58 per cent, according to an Ice Data Services index. Yields have jumped 1.63 percentage points this month in the biggest rise on record.

Ross Mitchinson, co-chief executive of UK broker Numis, said: “There has been the forced selling of everything — equities as well as bonds.”

The UK’s domestically focused FTSE 250 has fallen more than 5 per cent this week.

https://www.ft.com/content/9d2005ba-...0-92dd7c64689a