Monthly Archives: April 2015

Are managers delivering on investors’ expectations? Guest blog from Ralph Frank

Posted on April 30, 2015 by

  An investor appoints an active manager in the hope that this manager will outperform the agreed benchmark by a specified amount within an agreed risk tolerance.  Assessing whether the manager has delivered on this expectation should be relatively straightforward.  … Continue reading →

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Coming to terms with the new politics

Posted on April 30, 2015 by

Politicians and the circus that moves around them seem slow to grasp the new reality of this election – that people will vote in crowds rather than congregate around ideology. Understanding how these crowds are developing is the business of yougov … Continue reading →

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What’s the cost of choice?

Posted on April 29, 2015 by

I and my colleagues are fascinated by financial decisions; who to take out your mortgage with, who to bank with, which ISA to choose and which pension scheme to select for your staff. Which , Money Saving Expert and the … Continue reading →

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IFS has no time for pension politics (says Prof Pens)

Posted on April 28, 2015 by

  The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published a scathing review of tax and benefits proposals from the main parties, branding the triple lock “absurd” and tax-relief plans “misguided”. The think tank’s briefing note Taxes and Benefits: The Parties’ … Continue reading →

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“Thank God for the cellphone video camera”

Posted on April 28, 2015 by

So spoke the lawyer representing Freddie Gray’s family at a news conference this morning. “could not talk, could not breathe” reads the sign on a protestor’s cardboard placard. I’m not talking about the rights and wrongs of Baltimore- if you want … Continue reading →

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Small Business letter to the Telegraph; an attempt to defraud the electorate?

Posted on April 27, 2015 by

Pension PlayPen is one of millions of small businesses that did not sign the Small Business Letter.

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A grumpy nod for more of the same? #GE2015

Posted on April 27, 2015 by

This has been a grumpy election campaign with a lot of arguing but precious little happening in the polls. There have been the odd flashes of passion, the first leaders debate, the folly of #villagate and Boris and Ed scrapping … Continue reading →

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Power or the proper exercise of power? #villagate

Posted on April 26, 2015 by

The Liberals are more likely to be in power after May than Conservative or Labour The irony of Milliband’s and Cameron’s obsessions with two party politics is that this country is now 1-10 on to have no overall majority in the next … Continue reading →

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Aren’t pensions worth a mention in this election?

Posted on April 25, 2015 by

Why has there been so little comment this election campaign on pensions? When the rabbit came out of the hat in #Budget2014, many thought the freedom of pensions was the Conservatives great “retail offer”. Has Steve Webb diluted its political … Continue reading →

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Technology – not short-cuts – points the way to good pensions.

Posted on April 24, 2015 by

Pension Providers are challenged by later-stage auto-enrolment Let’s be under no illusions. The scale of the challenge facing workplace pension providers from auto-enrolment in 2016 is every bit as daunting for them as the challenge to payroll , advisers and employers. … Continue reading →

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