Monthly Archives: August 2021

Hargreaves Lansdown and its IGC lock horns.

  Hargreaves Lansdown’s IGC report 2021 It’s unusual for an investment driven organization to be criticized for its investment strategies and performance, but that’s what Richard Butcher, Hargreaves Lansdown’s IGC chair, has done. Butcher is new, as are four of … Continue reading

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The Prudential’s IGC – put to the test.

I have enjoyed Laurence Churchill’s five reports for the Prudential IGC and I’ve enjoyed Bruce Rigby’s first one. My respect for the reports has been based on the IGC’s focus on what matters. The IGC’s current approach to VfM takes … Continue reading

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Aviva’s IGC report with a smile

The Aviva 2021 IGC report is an accomplished document that sets standards in certain areas. It is the first IGC document I have read that excited me about ESG and its analysis of the provider’s investment pathway proposition is also … Continue reading

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What will this “investment big bang” mean for our pensions?

BREAKING: The UK Pensions Regulator is to drop plans to require UK defined benefit schemes to limit private market investment to 20% of their portfolio. More follows. — Josephine Cumbo (@JosephineCumbo) August 5, 2021 This u-turn comes 6 months after … Continue reading

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Standard Life’s IGC’s filibuster

Who do IGC chairs write their chair statements for? It was a question I discussed yesterday with an IGC chair. Every IGC report states that it is written solely for members but any member who opens the link to the … Continue reading

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Long on words and numbers, short on substance – L&G’s IGC report

  The  2021 L&G IGC  report cover, leaves us in no doubt as to what mattered most in the calendar year to 2020. It seems odd to be reporting on this over 8 months after 2020 ended and hopefully we … Continue reading

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Its IGC tells Fidelity – “if you’ve got it – flaunt it”.

Fidelity’s IGC report for 2021 is rather less low-key than this video from IGC Chair Kim Nash would suggest. While there is a lot of talk of challenging, Fidelity’s IGC has been remarkably stable both in its compositions and its … Continue reading

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Royal London’s innovative and highly readable IGC report

I am  impressed by this year’s IGC report from Royal London. It has made a real effort to reach out for comparators that “customers” will find relevant when assessing the value they are getting from Royal London’s workplace pensions. The … Continue reading

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Scottish Widows’ IGC report – a hard boiled egg

  The Scottish Widow’s Independent Governance Committee Annual Chair’s Report 2020/21 (scottishwidows.co.uk) is almost a curate’s egg. It shows the IGC taking their job very seriously and it is member-centric. It has a lot of good information within it. On … Continue reading

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How can we improve member outcomes if we can’t measure them?

The DWP links its campaign to consolidate small DC pension schemes to the headline “improving member outcomes”. But what is a good member outcome and how is it measured? The only measure I know of, that captures the value savers … Continue reading

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