Articles 35 and 36 of the 1995 Order (together with the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005) outline the requirements and principles governing investments for trust-based schemes, including a requirement for the trustees to draw up a statement of investment principles. Amongst other things, this statement must cover the trustees’ policies in relation to the kinds of investment to be held, the balance between different kinds of investment, risks, and the expected return on investments.
Section 14 gives a regulation-making power to require trustees or managers of a scheme to produce a statement about the investment strategy to be followed in connection with the provision of “collective” benefits.
Section 14(3) gives a power for these regulations to make corresponding or similar provision to that which applies to trust-based schemes under the 1995 Order. Regulations may provide for specific requirements about what must be included in the statement of investment strategy, and how frequently the strategy should be reviewed.
Under section 15 regulations may be made requiring the trustees or managers of schemes to obtain regular reports on the performance of investments held for the provision of collective benefits. Regulations may provide for how frequently the investment performance reports should be obtained, from whom they should be obtained and what the reports must include.