Monthly Archives: January 2017
Plugging phoney deficits does no good!
We have become fixated with phoney pension deficits, now a British pension consultancy is suggesting we can plug phoney deficits with real money, the dividends that support “other people’s pensions. This is what we think of the phoney deficits. Our … Continue reading
“Bill it to the fund”- why the TTF calls for full disclosure.
(Brief)case study I didn’t quite know what the smart gentleman meant when he offered me a drink in a first class carriage coming down from Manchester. “It’s ok – we’re billing to the fund”. Then it dawned on me, the … Continue reading
FABI says “no no” to the deficit yo-yo!
The First Actuarial Best-estimate Index (FABI) continues on a more predictable flight. An actuary speaks! Rob Hammond, who oversees the number crunching behind FABI says: “Yo-yo deficits do nothing to restore people’s confidence in their pensions. FABI paints a truer … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, advice gap, pensions
Tagged Deficit, FABI, Firt Actuarial, jo cumbo, pension, PPF7800, Technology
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FAKE NEWS – eroding the credibility of pensions.
“Yesterday I ran a blog complaining not about fake news but about misinformation accompanying the news. MOMENTUM – hang your head in shame! The news Momentum has is that the vast majority of people over 55 still don’t know when … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Financial wellness, Freedom, Income, momentum, pension, pension freedom, Placebo, Retirement, WASPI, Wealth
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MOMENTUM – hang your head in shame!
The press release demonstrating how ignorant the public are about their retirement income is an instant crowd pleaser, guaranteed to get a place on the website of our trade press. Here’s an example. Same story, slightly different headlines. Here’s the text … Continue reading
“Sunspots” (Con Keating)
Although not at this week’s Pension PlayPen lunch, Con asked for an account of the conversation; I mentioned that those in the room were pleased that schemes owning large amounts of index-linked gilts, had enjoyed bumper returns last year. It … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Blog, Bonds, Con Keating, FABI, index linked gilts, LDI, pension playpen, Sunspot
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Disrupt, produce, fulfil
The words in the title came to us as following a lecture from senior American Derivatives Regulator Timothy Massad. I wouldn’t have gone had Chris Radford not asked me. Chris isn’t in financial service but has a keen and … Continue reading
End of the road for LDI?
Thanks to those brave souls who braved “Southern”, the tube strike and filthy weather to attend yesterday’s lunch which asked “has LDI had its day?”. One answer to that question was clear, I learnt that the top performing asset class … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Bank underground, Blog, Bonds, Investment, Japan, LDI, Liability Driven Investment, opportunity cost, speculation, Value at risk, VAR, yield
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Cheer up this strike’n’ing Monday with good cheer at the Playpen lunch!
For many of us, this will be the first working Monday since December 19th. Christmas and New Year holidays have immunised us against the Monday morning blues. So a return to work for Londoners that includes the ongoing disruption … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Bonds, Counting House, LDI, Lunch, Pension Play Pen, redington, Robert Gardner
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Archdeacon Blue – and me in the poo!
God moves in mysterious ways and he got me this morning. I’ve been skiving off the early morning Thursday services at St Andrews By the Wardrobe. Our vicar is archdeacon Luke Miller – we bump into each other awkwardly outside … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
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