Category Archives: Change

No win no fee – one way to clean up asset management

I met yesterday with a Swiss firm whose business is to reduce the investment costs for large investors (typically with €500m +). The model is simple, no retainer – they receive 50% of the savings from their work. They are a … Continue reading

Posted in Bankers, Change, corporate governance, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, de-risking, Fred Goodwin, FSA, Management, napf, pension playpen, pensions, RBS, redington, Retirement, twitter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Britain’s Premier Equine Investment Conference

Thoughts turn to Cheltenham. The Pension Play Pen will decamp there after work this evening . Continue reading

Posted in Change, cheltenham festival, customer service, Horse racing, one pound fish, pension playpen, social media | 1 Comment

Mismanaging on-line identity – when cyber PR goes wrong!

The role of the publicity agent has changed. Celebrities have so much exposure via social media that it’s a 24/7 task just reading what’s being said about your clients, let alone controlling the message. Quantity still trumps quality – the axiom that … Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, Change, Linkedin, social media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Some of our insurers are missing

What have all these insurers got in common?
Answer, you can’t buy one of their personal pensions today.
Continue reading

Posted in Change, club pension, governance, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The still small voice ..and Trenton Oldfield

The British nation took a dislike to Trenton Oldfield earlier in the year, we don’t take kindly to Australian nutters messing with our institutions, especially the public school  kind who claim to speak for our disenfranchised . I blogged about him when he … Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, Change, defined aspiration, governance, happiness, Occupy London, Olympics, Olympics 2012, Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, religion | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

NESToration – go boom in that Euro room!

If NEST had been a person Amnesty would have registered it a political prisoner. Continue reading

Posted in Australia, Change, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Personal Accounts, Retirement | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Abusing the voice of the people – a call for better pensions

Evangelists of social media cite the wisdom of the crowd. But wisdom and gullibility are two sides of the same coin and  those who marvel at the capacity of groups to congregate around their chosen solutions, demonize their herd mentality when the crowd looks elsewhere. “Vox … Continue reading

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, Change, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, defined aspiration, Henry Tapper blog, leadership, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Personal Accounts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Can we get our business leaders to bother with pensions?

Our business leaders, a unique band of not more than a couple of thousand men (mostly), have not been leading the debate on workplace pensions. While Steve Webb and the DWP have proclaimed auto-enrolment as a transformational event, those charged … Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, CDC, Change, corporate governance, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, de-risking, defined aspiration | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Unlearning the old things

We had a statement from an insurer this morning justifying its position using sections of the Income and Corporation Tax Act (ICTA)1988. This legislation is now 24 years old and has been superseded by many other Acts, notably the Pension Acts of 2004 and … Continue reading

Posted in Change, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pensions in 2020 – the impact of social networks

We talk a lot about member engagement but in 2020 – if current trends continue – employees will have taken it out of our hands. Scheme members will be organising their own engagement and this may have surprising results. If … Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, Bankers, Change, Henry Tapper blog, pension playpen, pensions, social media | 1 Comment