Author Archives: henry tapper

About henry tapper

Founder of the Pension PlayPen, Director of First Actuarial, partner of Stella, father of Olly . I am the Pension Plowman

Is Woodford the final straw for active investors?

Posted on June 8, 2019

There will be a lot of private investors inside the gated community of the Woodford Equity Fund (WEI) who will be asking, just what is there to smile about? This time last week, Hargreaves Lansdown had this fund in their … Continue reading →

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What does SJP “sacking” Woodford mean?

Posted on June 7, 2019

“HL removed Woodford from its Wealth 50 but did not force sell the funds as SJP has.” But this shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how SJP (costly restricted funds) and HL (costly self-select platform) work! https://t.co/6eQoSKNK0T — Alistair Cunningham (@Cunningham_UK) … Continue reading →

Posted in FCA, governance, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Herding , Woodford and platforms

Posted on June 6, 2019

Adam Norris , the genius behind much of Hargreaves Lansdown’s success told me how he switched money in bulk from Equitable Life onto the HL platform. He read the society’s rules and discovered that as an Equitable policyholder, he was … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Getting youngsters saving more

Posted on June 5, 2019

Telling youngsters to save more is a waste of time It’s been a sad 48 hours on twitter watching the wolf pack turn on Paul Claireaux for his cappuccino blog – where Paul postulates that a youngster could have a … Continue reading →

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Millennial fightback

Posted on June 4, 2019

The greatest current threat to motor manufacturers is that people no longer want to drive. The second biggest threat is that people no longer want to own a car. That’s the message that comes loud and clear from an article … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Impact investing – follow your heart!

Posted on June 3, 2019

Putting your money where your heart is. I’m pleased to hear that steps are being taken to research the best opportunities for savers to make a difference with their money. Whether this is the voluntary saving we do into ISAs … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Pension PlayPen lunch – “are we better off out?”

Posted on June 2, 2019

Pension Play Pen lunch – Monday June 3rd 2019 Brexit and Trexit Brexit and Trexit are in the news, we all know about Brexit – some know about Trinity College Cambridge’s unilateral departure from USS (Tr-exit). Is Trinity College better … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Jo Grady’s letter to the Trinity dons

Posted on June 1, 2019

Here’s Jo Grady’s open letter and I think it’s worth some thinking about. Trinity College Cambridge, the one who’s Great Court is supposed to feature in Chariots of Fire, is rich. It is rich because of endowments given to it … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

We all love disruptors till we feel disrupted!

Posted on May 31, 2019

Yesterday I wrote a blog in favour of annuities and Britain’s favourite annuity broker – Retirement Line. My argument was that some of the best retirement income ideas and one of our best brokers are unknown. What a hullaballoo ensued! … Continue reading →

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Pension Income’s best kept secret

Posted on May 30, 2019

Did you know that when you buy an annuity you can change your mind? No? Well neither did I. I thought that once you handed your money over to an insurer that it was it, an income for life with … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, pensions | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments