Views from USS

1 March 2021

The difference between our expected investment returns and our prudent assumptions

We are currently holding a full valuation to investigate if and how we can expect to have enough money to pay the benefits promised to our members over the coming decades. To the extent that we plan to rely on investment returns to pay our members’ benefits, the process involves trying to predict how financial markets might perform over time.

25 February 2021

Update on some exciting new changes to the Investment Builder

The ability to innovate is one of the key benefits of an internal team and we take this seriously as we strive to create the best possible products for our members.

23 February 2021

USS Investment Management Update - February 2021

Changes made to the our asset allocation before, and during the pandemic, made a positive impact on performance as we continued to build on our liability-matching capability.

4 February 2021

January fixed income and treasury update

While investors may have made the most of the “Biden bounce”, the rapid “V-shaped” economic recovery which has already been priced into many economic models, still seems some way off.

19 January 2021

USS Institutions Meeting 2020

We held our annual Institutions’ Meeting on Thursday 10 December 2020. The ‘virtual’ meeting provided us with an opportunity to update our sponsoring employers on how we’ve performed, the work we are doing to improve the services we provide, and our perspective on how we can deliver on our mission: to work with Higher Education employers to build a secure financial future for our members and their families.

17 December 2020

USS Investment Management update - December 2020

Simon Pilcher, CEO of USS Investment Management, takes a look back on the year and a look forward to 2021.

14 December 2020

USS has announced a major investment in the fast-growing London-based broadband company, G.Network

According to recent data, the UK is languishing at number 47 in the global speed league for broadband. It matters for many reasons – education, leisure and work to name but a few and for USS presents an excellent investment opportunity.

27 October 2020

USS Investment Management Update - October 2020

As we look forward, the final quarter of 2020 looks to be one of the most challenging in recent history. With the looming US election poised to be highly contested, a potential cliff-hanger Brexit deadline and a global pandemic still unfolding, calling the future direction of the global economy and financial markets is at its most difficult.

15 October 2020

First reflections on USS, by Dame Kate Barker

In September I took over as Chair of USS during an extraordinary time for the scheme. Not only in the midst of a valuation, but also sharply aware of the unprecedented pressure on Higher Education from the pandemic. It was certainly not an ideal backdrop.