Monthly Archives: August 2017
When ESG knocked at the White House
What has happened in America this week has surprised and delighted me. Donald Trump’s two advisory committees, staffed from the Chief Executives of big American business have been disbanded, or more properly disbanded themselves. The strategy and policy forum and the … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Charlottesville, equal rights, ESG, governance, obama, Trump, White supremacy
1 Comment
Extreme investment caution’s killing off final salary schemes – Boulding.
Extreme investment caution is killing off final salary pensions, believes Adrian Boulding – and, within that, there is a stark message too for the defined contribution saver. Adrian is a long time friend of this blog and I’m pleased … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Adrian Boulding, DB, defined benefit, Dunstan Thomas, final salary, pensions, Retirement
5 Comments
Taking care of the “social” in housing.
Paying for the improvements in our social housing, to improve safety is going to be expensive. You wonder where the money will come from, or at least I did till I read a good article by Merryn Somerset-Webb in the … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged David Harreaves, HMRC, Pension Play Pen, private rent, Social housing, Tax
3 Comments
Paul Lewis; you are awful – but I like you!
I was shocked to read – as I scrolled though my digital FT this morning – Paul Lewis telling me “employers should pay more into pensions”. He argues that “miserly contributions into defined contribution schemes are storing up trouble”. I … Continue reading
Posted in advice gap, pensions
Tagged Dick Emery, employers, Paul Lewis, pensions, Savings
20 Comments
“Time spent frail in old age doubles”
A Newcastle University study, suggests that elderly people are getting frail for longer as they reach the final years of their life. According to the Seed project men spent 2.4 years on average needing regular care and women three … Continue reading
Posted in doctors, pensions
Tagged Dementia, Newcstle Univeristy, Old age, Saga, the Seed Project
5 Comments
“What’s the purpose of a pension scheme?” – Con Keating
Con Keating argues in this piece that pension schemes aspire to “self-sufficiency”, giving them the status of insurance companies. His thinking centres on what claims we have on schemes if the covenant to fund these schemes is lost. His conclusions … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, pensions
Tagged Con Keating, pension, pension scheme, regulation, solvency, TPR
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Reaching the places advice cannot reach
Only a handful of pension providers have adapted their systems to allow people to use the Pension Advice Allowance. The pension advice allowance, introduced in April, allows pension savers to take £500 tax-free from their retirement funds to help … Continue reading
Transfer values, discount rates and reality – some insight from Con Keating
The picture above shows Con holding forth at a lunch in Whitechapel, I think he was talking of this very subject. “What oft was thought but ne’er so well expressed” – thanks Con! Prompted by the publicity surrounding DB pension … Continue reading
Welcome to Staberdeen!
The merger is done, the deals are won and we have a new investment house which “provides asset management and investment solutions for clients and customers worldwide…. and also has a strong position in the pensions and savings market”. Of … Continue reading
Britain leading the way (at last)
The balance of regulatory geo-politics has changed (did I really write that!) I guess most baby boomers like me grew up thinking that (at least in matters financial), Britain could look to America for progressive policy and practice. This is no … Continue reading
Posted in advice gap, Big Government, customer service, pensions
Tagged Brevin Frank, chris sier, FCA, Hedge Funds, IA, Investment Association, pensions, Transparency, Transparency Task Force
3 Comments