The CISI is running an event on Wednesday 25th October which has the most extraordinary agenda and a magnificent speaker line-up that I doubt will be equalled this year.
Pensions has been one of the biggest avoidable public policy crises in our generation; the problems came to a head in last autumn’s bond market turmoil around LDIs.
In this major event, featuring experts such as economist Professor Sir John Kay, former Bank of England Governor Lord (Mervyn King), and former Pensions Minister and now LCP Partner Sir Steve Webb – plus a host of others, a dozen speakers in all – we will probe the future for one of the most important financial assets in most of our clients’ lives.
It’s free to C I S I members and £50 to the rest of us, which is something of a bargain.
Here are the essential details
Risk and uncertainty in the pensions world
Correcting the biggest avoidable UK public policy failure of recent decades
Willis Towers Watson, 51 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7DQ
October 25th 2023
14:00 Registration
14:30 Welcome and introduction
- Harriet Agnew, Asset Management Editor, Financial Times
14:35 Manage risk, embrace uncertainty
- Professor Sir John Kay, co-author Radical Uncertainty
15:15 Escape from Model Land
- Erica Thompson, Associate Professor, University College, London and author, Escape from Model Land
15:35 The background
- Robin Ellison, Chairman, College of Lawmakers
- Professor Geoffrey Whittington, University of Cambridge
How it all worked out
- Con Keating, Head of Research, Brighton Rock Group
- Iain Clacher, Professor of Pensions and Finance and Pro Dean International, University of Leeds
16:30 Break
17:00 Issues in practice
- Derek Benstead, Senior Consultant, First Actuarial
- Jon Exley, Schroders
- Professor Dennis Leech, University of Warwick
- Jackie Grant, Finance & Pensions Officer, Sussex UCU [TBC]
17:45 The way ahead
- Michael Tory, Tony Blair Institute
- Sir Steve Webb, Partner, LCP and former Pensions Minister
- Martin White, ‘Savers Take Control’
- Robert Laslett, former Chief Economist for Pensions, Department for Work and Pensions
18:30 Pensions within the financial system
- Lord (Mervyn) King, former Governor, Bank of England co-author, Radical Uncertainty
18:55 Summary and close – Harriet Agnew
19:00 Drinks reception
If you can go , go. If you can’t go, I hope to report on it.
Sadly the biggest and avoidable UK public policy failure of recent decades doesn’t appear to be on the agenda.
That failure is recognition of £2tn+ of index linked DB pension liabilities being promised for 5m deserving public sector workers on the assumption of real GDP growth of ~3% per annum. The intergenerational transfer of liability brings comparison to a Ponzi scheme.
Sadly I won’t be able to make this event but agree it’s a great line up. I take heart that several of the speakers are regular contributors to Pension Playpen events. Perhaps the others might be persuaded to take a turn too?
In the meantime I’m sure I can rely on you to report a summary of the event.