BT pension fund switching out of equities - FT

LONDON, Sep 16 (Reuters) UK telecoms company BT Group Plc's pension scheme is switching about a third of its UK equity holdings, or about 3 billion pounds (.66 billion), into alternative assets, the Financial Times said on Saturday.

A BT spokesman said: ''We're not in a position to comment on that.'' The newspaper said the move by Hermes, BT's pension fund manager, represents one of the biggest single shifts away from the London stock market by a UK pension fund in recent years.

It said one leading consultant predicted that it would have a ''snowball effect'', prompting a further acceleration away from equities. Pension funds have steadily reduced their exposure to equities over the past decade.

The FT said BT's pension scheme, the UK's largest retirement fund, was switching funds into assets such as hedge funds and private equity in a ''radical move for the fund that has long set investment trends for industry''.

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