Universities Superannuation Scheme

With a massive equity exposure and little appetite for risk management, the UK's Universities Superannuation Scheme is flying in the face of contemporary pensions orthodoxy. Aaron Woolner reports

As any former university student might recall, individuality is a positive trait among academics. And like a professor rejecting the corporate dress code, the Universities Superannuation Scheme - that manages the pensions of UK academics - has rejected the wholesale move to liability driven investment (LDI) that now dominates the corporate pensions landscape.

Instead of looking to de-risk its pension promises in the face of market volatility, the USS has taken a traditional actuarial line and