Partner

James Parker

Languages

English
French
German

Social media

James Parker is a partner in the Pensions team and a member of the Pensions De-Risking team, a specialist, multi-disciplinary team devoted to transactions in the longevity risk transfer market.

James' practice spans domestic and international corporate, insurance, reinsurance and structured finance transactions. He has a long-established reputation as a leader in the longevity and pension de-risking market, having acted on many of the largest and highest-profile transactions announced to date.

Awards & Recognitions

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James is valued by his clients for his “commerciality”, “dedication” and “proactivity”.
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James was first ranked in Chambers in 2013. In 2016, James receives praise for his work on pension de-risking and longevity transactions. Sources say he "knows his onions" and has an ability to "explain things in simple ways."
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James’ experience is described by his clients as “unique in the market. There is a lot of value add.” He is described by the CEO of one of his principal clients as simply “great; I would recommend him to anyone.”
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"James is recommended as a leader and profiled for his work on Derivatives & Structured Products."

Legal 500

Relevant experience

Pension Insurance Corporation in relation to the GBP 1.6bn bulk annuity pension buy-in policy with the Total UK Pension Scheme and the associated reinsurance arrangements.
SCOR Global Life in relation to the GBP 5 billion reinsurance of the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme, a pension fund of Aviva Life & Pensions UK Ltd.
Abbey Life Assurance Company Limited in relation to a GBP 2bn longevity insurance transaction with the Trustee of the ScottishPower Pension Scheme and the associated reinsurance arrangements.
SCOR Global Life in relation to the reinsurance of a CAD 5bn longevity insurance transaction between Sun Life Assurance Company and the Bell Canada pension plan, the first such transaction in Canada.
Abbey Life Assurance Company Limited in relation to a GBP 500m longevity insurance transaction with the trustees of the Rolls-Royce & Bentley Pension Fund and the associated reinsurance arrangements with Hannover Re.
SCOR Global Life in relation to the 50% quota share reinsurance of EUR 1.4 billion of longevity/mortality risk hedged by Blue Square Re, Aegon's group reinsurer.
The Trustees of the PGL Pensions Scheme in relation to the GBP 900 million longevity insurance transaction with Phoenix Life Limited (Phoenix), part of Phoenix Group Holdings, a FTSE 250 company.
SCOR Global Life in relation to the reinsurance of a proportion of the GBP 3bn longevity risk written by Deutsche Bank AG in derivative form with the trustees of the Rolls-Royce UK Pension Scheme
Abbey Life Assurance Company Limited in relation to a GBP 3bn longevity insurance transaction with the trustees of the BMW UK Pension Scheme and the associated reinsurance arrangements.
The Trustees of the Pall UK Pension Scheme on the first index-based longevity derivative covering deferred members.

Publications

‘What are the implications of Zurich’s longevity swap transaction?’, Employee Benefits.
Contributor to the Pensions Law Handbook (15th Edition), Bloomsbury Professional.

Education

1995 - BA French and German, Bristol University, Bristol
1997- College of Law, Guildford

Practice Areas

Banking & Finance Corporate

sectors

Insurance

Insights by James

See all Insights

News United Kingdom

CMS advises Rothesay on £6bn bulk annuity portfolio acquisition

14 Mar 2024 2 min read

Legal Update United Kingdom

CMS Pensions Investment and Risk Briefing - August 2023

09 Aug 2023 1 min read

Publication United Kingdom

CMS Pensions Investment and Risk Briefing

08 Aug 2023 1 min read