Monthly Archives: October 2016

Zacchaeus – the short-arsed scammer who came good.

Posted on October 31, 2016 by

Zacchaeus -Remember him? Zacchaeus was a tax man who one day climbed a tree For he was short in stature and said he could not see And yet he had a problem, that mattered even more He didn’t see the … Continue reading →

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How mean is my valley? Why have we given up on pension prosperity?

Posted on October 31, 2016 by

  Britain is one of the great economic powerhouses of the world. We are a strong nation that should be most confident in ourselves and our capacity to manage our own future. In the past few days we have seen … Continue reading →

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Long term sustainability of DB schemes (First Actuarial bulletin)

Posted on October 31, 2016 by

First Actuarial publish bulletins helping staff, clients and the wider markets to understand what’s going on. This is the 31st October bulletin. If you’d like to subscribe to this bulletin we will put you on our mailing list – please … Continue reading →

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Anatomy of a scam; lessons from Providence and Lumiere

Posted on October 30, 2016 by

If there’s anything good that can come out of the Providence Group’s global network of deceit, it is that it is exposed and offers us its full anatomy. Yesterday I tried to lay out the anatomy at length – I … Continue reading →

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Beware the Channel Isles my son.

Posted on October 29, 2016 by

In the UK we fight financial fraud through the FCA,tPR and a variety of enforcement agencies which together are “action fraud”. Our Regulators are accountable for ensuring that organisations that they regulate behave properly and that investments that they offer … Continue reading →

Posted in FSA, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Will the gig-economy auto-enrol? More likely after UBER judgement!

Posted on October 28, 2016 by

Today’s the day that an employment tribunal in London will decide whether Uber’s 40,000 licensed drivers are self-employed or “workers”. So far all the talk has been about sick-pay, holiday pay and the minimum wage. But “worker” (as in “personal … Continue reading →

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Hope, experience and business models (Con Keating)

Posted on October 28, 2016 by

  This summer, the steady stream of surveys of the attitudes and actions of asset managers and asset-owners on ESG and climate change has exhibited a common and disappointing finding: the integration of these concerns into investment processes and decision-making … Continue reading →

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Thanks – it’s a delight to do business with you!

Posted on October 28, 2016 by

    It’s a real delight speaking to micro businesses about pensions. You might think a simple question like “which one do you think is best?” would become boring, now we’re closing in on 5000 employers who’ve asked us it. … Continue reading →

Posted in auto-enrolment, pension playpen, pensions, robo-advice, Sage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Protecting the member’s promise (Tim Sharp of TUC speaks up)

Posted on October 27, 2016 by

Tim sits with us on the Transparency Task Force; he’s a force for good as the TUC’s person in the pension hot seat. These are strong words from a quiet man; the member needs an advocate and Tim and the … Continue reading →

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In the battle of Brexit – are we the home guard?

Posted on October 27, 2016 by

Recently I went to the Battle of Ideas Festival. It made me think how we might make a good pensions system work for Britain (we usually think the other way round). Most political ideas revolve around Brexit, so why not … Continue reading →

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