It found that the average pension scheme asset allocation to bonds has increased from 40 per cent to 47 per cent. This, said PCS, represented the largest 12-month shift in investment strategy for more than 20 years.
In just over two years, the bond holdings of FTSE 100 pension schemes have risen by more than a third.
Charles Cowling, managing director of PCS, contended that the growing shift into bonds was “the inevitable consequence of successive government legislation demanding more and more guarantees and security from companies and their pension schemes.”
He added: “We believe that within the next two to three years, the large majority of pension assets will be in bonds as companies move towards the final end game of offloading pension liabilities and the winding up of pension schemes.”
PCS also revealed that the total deficit in FTSE 100 pension funds amounted to £50bn (€55.8bn) at March 31, a loss of £86bn on the position a year ago.
