I am really pleased to see Clear Glass offering help to small DB schemes at a cost any scheme can afford!

For a time , I worked with small DB schemes and recognize that every penny counts in meeting their liabilities.

Many do not have the budget to properly understand the money they are paying for their investment services;- they haven’t the means to manage what they cannot measure.

In governance – big is beautiful

ClearGlass’s findings, well laid out in the Pension Expert article, confirm what we have found in our analysis of DC , that there is a governance deficit in the management of small DB schemes and that there the economies of scale achieved by multi-billion pound schemes are chiefly derived through better governance.

But small DB schemes – unlike small occupational DC schemes, cannot find a simple answer in consolidation. Since they carry deficits , they are dependent on their sponsors and the efficiency of their investments to struggle through.

I think it’s great that ClearGlass are offering this service free to smaller schemes and I hope that they and the consultancies that serve them, will take up this great offer- while it lasts.

Chris Sier – ClearGlass’ executive chairman