Monthly Archives: February 2021

The last day of winter

Posted on February 28, 2021 by henry tapper

Snow may be forecast for March , but I’m treating today as the last day of winter and preparing for spring. Meteorological Winter is determined by the annual temperature cycles and the Gregorian calendar. Meteorological winter starts December 1st in the … Continue reading →

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Maybe financial robots better stick with providing factual information.

Posted on February 28, 2021 by henry tapper

At the end of January, one of Europe’s best hopes to succeed as a Robo-Adviser, closed its doors on UK investors, choosing to focus on Germany as its core market. In a very perceptive article, Malcolm Kerr puts his finger … Continue reading →

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Perseverance pays off- Covid-ARGs weekend bulletin

Posted on February 28, 2021 by henry tapper

                                                                                                     http://www.covid-arg.com Weekend Report: Issue 38 By Matt Fletcher, John Roberts and Adele Groyer COVID-19 Actuaries Response Group – Learn. Share. Educate. Influence. COVID-19 is still one of the hottest topics for scientific papers and articles. The COVID‑19 Actuaries … Continue reading →

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Auto Enrolment 2.0 – anything new?

Posted on February 27, 2021 by henry tapper

At the launch of the Resolution Foundation’s Retirement Living Standards, Pensions Minister Guy Opperman laid out some plans for what he’s calling Auto-enrolment 2.0. This blog asks whether 2.0 is just more of the same or a genuine upgrade. It’s … Continue reading →

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The curse on pensions is the cult of the consultant!

Posted on February 27, 2021 by henry tapper

  I thought about calling this blog the “cult of complexity” as in modern English, a cult is a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or by its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal The social group I have in mind is … Continue reading →

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Pension simplification will bring tears at bed-time.

Posted on February 26, 2021 by henry tapper

The illustration is from “Greta and the giants” , an alarming children’s book designed to entertain and inform  from Zoe Tucker (author) and Zoe Persico (illustrator). I say “alarming” because climate change should be giving me tears before bed-time. I … Continue reading →

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How the budget could tweak pensions.

Posted on February 25, 2021 by henry tapper

Rishi Sunak’s March 3rd benchmark will be overshadowed by the cost of building back Britain. Will pensioners be treated sympathetically and will those saving for a pension have to pay some of the price? Thanks to  Becky O’Connor, Head of … Continue reading →

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“Who’d want to be a pension trustee?” – asks a pension trustee

Posted on February 25, 2021 by henry tapper

Michael Clark is a good friend to this blog and he’s also a useful person to know if you need a good pension trustee or some common sense-ical corporate pension advice. He writes well too and this article (picked up … Continue reading →

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Why , given half a chance – most DC savers will “invest” in cash.

Posted on February 24, 2021 by henry tapper

In my article today about CDC, I mention that DC is unable to do what CDC can do, which is keep people invested in retirement. The FCA’s Retirement Income survey data shows that the vast majority of redemptions from personal pensions … Continue reading →

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John Ralfe’s CDC lecture

Posted on February 24, 2021 by henry tapper

A big thank you to Imperial College Business School for making this a public lecture, It brought 140 people together, encouraged some sharp debate in the chat room and gave a platform to John Ralfe to explain the con trick … Continue reading →

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