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Category Archives: advice gap
Did active managers protect us from the pandemic? American research says “NO!”
Are active fund managers working harder for us through the pandemic? Not according to an analysis of mutual fund returns and flows. It seems that what has served investors well is being in funds investing in equities that … Continue reading
Posted in advice gap, age wage, pensions
Tagged Active Fund management, active funds, Morningstar, Pastor and Vorsatz, Research
1 Comment
Do you want to insure or pay more tax for your care costs?
It is good that the Government is looking again at long term residential and home care in the UK. We need to be clear about the option open to Government and these are now being rehearsed. These articles are often … Continue reading
The mess we’re in (pt.1) and how we got here.
Iain Clacher and Con Keating Since their heyday in the 1990s, UK occupational DB schemes have been winding up at a rate of about one every two days. Their replacement, DC schemes, are a poor substitute; they are tax-advantaged savings … Continue reading
Posted in accountants, actuaries, advice gap, pensions, trustee
Tagged Con Keating, DB, DB pensions, Iain Clacher, regulation, Roy Gopode, Sharon Bowles, TPR
1 Comment
How can you test the “quality of service” you’re getting from your pensions?
“Value for money is more than just an analysis of cost” – we are told “Value for money is more than just an analysis of the money paid” – we are told “Value for money is also about ‘quality of … Continue reading
Posted in advice gap, age wage, pensions
Tagged FCA, pensions, Quality of service, Sandbox, Value for Money, VFM
1 Comment
Time has told for Tideway
So – over three years after writing that Tideway’s activities in the DB transfer market should be stopped, Tideway’s activities in the DB market have been stopped. A note on the FCA’s register says that, as of 3 July, … Continue reading
Posted in advice gap, pensions
Tagged Al Cunningham, Al Rush, DB, DB transfers, James Baxter, NMA, Ollie Smith, Tideway
7 Comments
Is HMRC handing the low-paid pension saver a Pyrrhic victory?
The government has today published a ‘call for evidence’ on how to address the different outcomes for lower earners, depending on whether their pension schemes use the relief at source (RAS) or net pay method of tax relief. The call … Continue reading
A calm hand needed for this pension face off
Mark Twain reported that reports of his death were exaggerated. A journalist had in fact mistaken his state of health for his brother’s (who was in a much worse way). The same could be said for the Open Defined Benefit … Continue reading
A McCloud(ed) judgement where costs may be shared.
On the face of it , the McCloud judgement looks like a civil service cock-up on a grand scale, costing the Government billions in what were thought “saved” revenues and compensating civil servants who already have gold plated pensions for … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, advice gap, pensions
Tagged HM Treasury, judgement, Mcleod, pensions, p[ublic purse
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Should the tax-payer subsidise the cost of vertically integrated advice?
The cost of pensions tax-relief is likely to be a burning issue in the months ahead. The tax-payer is supposed to incentivise good behavior. Pre-funding retirement income leads to self-sufficiency and independence on younger generations in later life. That’s … Continue reading
Posted in advice gap, age wage, dc pensions, pensions
Tagged advice, cross-subsidy, financial advice, SJP, Vertical integration
1 Comment
SJP assess their value; I remain unimpressed.
Why do firms like SJP have to publish an Assessment of their value? SJP is an authorised fund manager or “AFM”. This is the FCA two years ago The FCA Assessment of Value rules which entered into force in September 2019 … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, advice gap, pensions
2 Comments