“My boss tells me ‘deals are done at Tiger Lills'” ,

one young marketing executive told me ruefully at the PLSA investment dinner last night. The poor lad had been on his feet all day being nice to people like me and was now having to humour me till he was packed off to buy potential customers drinks at some speakeasy where contracts were supposedly being dished out in the early hours of today (Thursday). The only consolation I could give him was that he wasn’t changing nappies and making up bottles for his young family.

My point is that the exhibitioner is the most put upon , the hardiest and the least recognised of the many participants at this event. This blog salutes you.

The role of the journalist at this conference

I am making my peace with the exhibitioners as I need all the friends I can get having spent much of yesterday asking questions that needed asking but were awkward.

I wanted to know why the US IBM plant re-opened its 117% funded DB plan for new accrual last week and whether UK plans, which are funded above this level, might think about doing so.

I wanted to know whether the 11m new saves into workplace pensions might be party to Britain’s biggest ever class action when it turned out to be no pension when they ended work.

I wanted to know why “guidance” from DC trustees might not include, as NOW’s Lizzie Holliday suggested “an offer” based on the trustee’s conviction of what was best.

It is the job of a Freelance Journalist to ask questions and I wish that more of the journalists in the press room – spent more time doing just that in open session. I think the TV in the press room live streaming  sessions is a menace to meaningful debate. It is no use journalists spending their time waiting for stories to arise, they need to – as Jo Cumbo does, make the story by asking the awkward question.

A long day – especially for Julius.

As I made my way from my digs to the event at around 8am yesterday morning, I came across a lean figure traversing Lothian Road in a fine fedora hat, it could only be Julius Pursaill.

Julius had made his way from down south , missing his first plane due to a passport malfunction and arriving at his hotel late into the night. He was on the first panel of the day, attended by the few delegates not sitting in the exhibition hall nursing large espressos and larger hangovers. He spoke feelingly of how he hoped Cushon would be a £100 bn master trust within 10 years). He went home , soon after speaking. Julius – this blog salutes you

A happy day for many of us

I admit to bunking off the final session of the day to join Hymans Robertson at Pinchitas, a steamy wine bar in Morrison Street , packed to the rafters with Hymans clients. It made me feel young again, talking “wid da yout” over some Latin American cocktail but not for long.  I baled after an hour, aware that later in the evening, back to the press room to watch Robin Ellison on a virtual trustee meeting and to hang out with the kids.

I would be making it home on my tod. The heavens opened for us as we left the dinner later that night, if you are waking up to a damp wardrobe and can’t remember much about the wee hours, this blog salutes you.

If you made it to Tiger Lil’s and did your deals- this blog salutes you. 

Whatever happened to the AGM?

This morning is the last of the event , we will have the Pension Minister – I hope in person, I expect not. We will have a session on LGPS (the happies constituency of pensions), we will have another talk with another economist and we’ll have an intriguing panel on D&I which includes some to the best speakers of the week.

We will not have the PLSA AGM which used to happen early doors and was to have been my opportunity to ask an awkward question or two about the PLSA’s association with property funds that may or may not have been exploiting freehold privileges. If I can’t ask these questions openly, I will do privately and you will have a chance to be a part of the freehold/leasehold debate next Tuesday when Norma Cohen and Harry Scoffen are joining me for a Pension PlayPen coffee morning.

I’m sorry that there is no AGM, it was fun watching people asleep at 8 am.

Still too deep in the weeds to give a defining view but….

My impression of this year’s conference is that it has been is and will probably conclude – a very happy event. In no small part this is down to the current chair – Emma Douglas who is a good egg. She was great at dinner last night – a mother hen to us all.

The event brings us together and never more so the morning after the night before. My favourite phrase when asked how I find it is “I hate the conference, love the people”. I actually like the conference, I am just getting too old to climb too many more stairs, but I have discovered this building in Edinburgh has lifts – so it will be ok!

As well as a good conference, #PLSAinvest24 is a bloody good  trade show. If you want a virtual event, remember what we got a couple of years back