Monthly Archives: March 2024
The future executive of the Pensions Regulator
The Pensions Regulator is an extremely important part of the way private pensions work in the UK. It has some influence on public pensions but is primarily concerned with the auto-enrolment system , the workplace pensions into which we save … Continue reading
Yeovil Town and W*ymouth – the history of the hatred
A few years back , while watching Yeovil Town play Burnley in the Championship, the chant went up behind us Chim Chiminee, Chim Chiminee Chim Chim cheroo We hate those bastards in claret and blue The Burnley fans were … Continue reading
When it’s easier to pack it in – why some trustees are choosing the PPF
Recently , I have heard of some boards of trustees who have chosen for their scheme to go into the PPF rather than soldier on with the help of an assisted covenant. While the Pensions Regulator claims it is … Continue reading
Thames Water’s latest casualty – Oxford’s blue boat.
Affluence and effluence We had been warned 12 years on from Trenton Oldfield’s unwanted intervention Oxford University’s president admitted in his post race interview to having been struck down by “poo in the water” , leaving him puking that morning. … Continue reading
BP’s problem is that pensioners never forget.
BP has lost an important legal battle in the United States that will mean 9.000 pensioners will get compensation as a result into being talked into accepting a change into benefit formulation 30 years ago. The parallels with WASPI are … Continue reading
From Monday, everyone over 21 gets a living wage and fair pension contributions
From Monday, millions of low paid people will be getting a pay rise. While the Pension Industry whinges about not getting 12% of salary mandated pension contributions , it should remember that the pots of those who have been auto-enrolled … Continue reading
If HSBC’s LTAF is an important step for DC, can we know why?
Annoyingly, I can’t comment on Laura Myers quote as the article is sat behind a paywall. This quote about the launch of a sleeve of illiquids in the HSBC master trust is also from Laura Myers but taken from Pension … Continue reading
The defined benefits of a workplace pension scheme.
In this blog, I explain why offering guaranteed “pensions” is something institutional investors are interested in. There is an opportunity right now to reopen a proposition, all but forgotten – the defined benefit workplace pension. To me, the most interesting … Continue reading
Larry Fink’s a big banana – and he’s boringly right!
Larry Fink is the top dog at Black Rock, the asset manager that owns a good deal of the world. He is what in “Alex” is known as a “master of the universe” and on this blog as a big … Continue reading
How Standard Life’s Master Trust could be a world beater.
Over this Easter weekend, Helen Dean, former CEO of Nest and one of the architects of auto-enrolment, will take over as Chair of Standard Life’s Master Trust. Big challenge 1.0 She can look back at this statement, made when she … Continue reading