Category Archives: Change
So you want better pensions?
I’m going to Holland next week to talk to European Fund Managers about how they engage with the UK DC market, it could be a short presentation. Ironically, the Dutch pension system is delivering 50% more pension – per pound … Continue reading
Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, Change, Management, Martin Lewis, pensions, Personal Accounts, Retirement
Tagged David Pitt-Watson, Dutch, DWP, Holland, Investment management, pension, Steve Webb, Treasury
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Does your pension scheme need advice?
WARNING- THIS BLOG CONTAINS A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR OUR SERVICES! (transparent as always!) I’m travelling up to Nottingham this morning to talk to Employers and Trustees who are asking themselves “Does our pension scheme need advisers”. Meeting similar groups recently, the answers I’m … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, annuity, auto-enrolment, Change, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, defined aspiration, Financial Education, FSA, happiness, leadership, Linkedin, mallowstreet, Popcorn Pensions, Retirement, social media, Treasury
Tagged Business, Company, Employment, Fee (remuneration), Insurance, National Employment Savings Trust, Nottingham, pension
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Is honesty contagious? More on pension charges.
I’ve just read an excellent blog by Alastair Conway of Cofunds published on FT Advisor. It deals with the issues IFAs are facing as they enter the new world formed by the Retail Distribution Review and focusses on the adoption … Continue reading
Posted in auto-enrolment, Change, dc pensions, NEST, pensions
Tagged Business, Financial Services Authority, FSA, Insurance, Investment management, pension, Steve Webb, VAT
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An amnesty on pension charges is not the answer!
It seem that Aviva are to review the legacy charges on pension charges. Tom Mcphail is calling for a general amnesty on charges that hints that there is currently a “charges war”. There isn’t a charges war Tom, if there was … Continue reading
Too important to hide;- why the Government has to investigate pension default charges
LCP, the pensions consultancy, yesterday published its first DC Fees Survey and very good it is too. It confirms what we knew, that the investment fees and charges for some DC funds are not transparent, that they can be as much as 100% … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, annuity, auto-enrolment, Bankers, Change, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, happiness, Henry Tapper blog, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Popcorn Pensions, Treasury
Tagged Defined contribution plan, DWP, Fiduciary, Government, Gregg McClymont, Investment, Investment management, National Employment Savings Trust, pension, Steve Webb
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The giddy diversity that makes us tick!
If you’ve met me , you’ll know a 6ft 3″ middle aged white bloke with a plummy voice that has been nicknamed “Lord Henry” by my chavmates! I am the product of the public schools and Cambridge. My privileged background … Continue reading
Posted in Change, happiness, London, Olympics, Olympics 2012, social media
Tagged Irish, James Joyce, London, May Ball, Multiculturalism, Slough, Strawberry Fair, Turkish Cypriots
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The vanity sale
A lot of companies struggle to differentiate what they do from what their competitors do. If they carry high overheads – posh offices, high payroll and big marketing budgets then there is no way price can be the differentiator. All too … Continue reading
Stop moaning Britain!
I am in Manchester , it is raining- Jenny K is tweeting there’s no such verb as “to medal”, the pensions world is indignant but I have the sun strapped over my shoulder and shout out “cheer up, stop moaning and enjoy the … Continue reading
Posted in Change, dc pensions, London, Olympics, Olympics 2012, pension playpen
Tagged Britain, Facebook, London, London Olympic Park, Malta, Manchester, Olympic Games, pension
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End of an epoch?
This is an article by Con Keating, reproduced with his kind permission. It’s hard but it’s worth it- Con is the cleverest man in town. The demise of the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s was epoch-defining; it constituted a massive shift of … Continue reading
Posted in Bankers, Change, economics, EU Solvency II, Treasury
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“The first cut is the cheapest” – transferring legacy pensions
We all know the song. The revised phrase was coined by stockbrokers who’d tell their customers to sell out of a failing stock before it’s price fell again. The phrase use to be sung to Equitable Life policyholders who hung … Continue reading