Category Archives: FSA

FCA fears Woodford “contagion”

  Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.  Luke 8:33 The City regulator is investigating funds worth more than … Continue reading

Posted in age wage, FCA, FSA, pensions | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A time of trust – not guarantees.

About the time that I was ranting to TISA about the complacency with which we are dismantling the retirement promises made to those who were promised a DB pension based on the years they worked with the company;- this happened! … Continue reading

Posted in CDC, DWP, FSA, Music, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Beware the Channel Isles my son.

In the UK we fight financial fraud through the FCA,tPR and a variety of enforcement agencies which together are “action fraud”. Our Regulators are accountable for ensuring that organisations that they regulate behave properly and that investments that they offer … Continue reading

Posted in FSA, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

The Pensions Regulator gives IGCs a new row of teeth.

  It’s not enough- not nearly enough – but at last the Pensions Regulator’s beginning to take workplace pensions seriously enough to offer something close to a decent choice for employers staging auto-enrolment. Yesterday , Andrew Warwick-Thompson, head of policy … Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, FSA, pension playpen, pensions, Pensions Regulator | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Why can’t we know what we pay for “fund management”?

We have the right to know what we are paying for funds. The cost of a fund can best be defined as the difference between what you would have received from a theoretical return on the assets in the fund … Continue reading

Posted in FSA, governance, life insurance, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement, steve webb | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The great pensions rotation

“Everything dies honey that’s a fact, and everything that dies some day comes back” – Bruce Springsteen DB died the day they guaranteed indexation. DA will be born the day they take that guarantee away. Ring out the old, ring … Continue reading

Posted in dc pensions, de-risking, defined ambition, defined aspiration, FSA, pension playpen, pensions, Pensions Regulator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Business relies on transparency – it’s time platform managers come clean

General principles Buying low and selling higher is the basis of all commerce. Intelligent purchasers seek to cut out intermediaries to buy direct. Smart intermediaries use their financial muscle to bulk-purchase, getting a better price than a single purchaser can … Continue reading

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

“The predictable alternative to drawdown”

  “Drawdown scares me”. It scares me because I am on my own, it scares me because I get a bumpy ride and most of all it scares me because I know that if I drawdown at a minute of … Continue reading

Posted in advice gap, CDC, FCA, Financial Conduct Authority, FSA, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Fund management’s like a car-boot, you’ve got to know what you’re paying (and what you’re buying).

Fund management’s like a car-boot, you’ve got to know what you’re paying (and what you’re buying). Continue reading

Posted in auto-enrolment, Bankers, brand, Farefail, Financial Education, First Actuarial, FSA, hedge funds, infrastucture, investment, London, Management, middleware, NEST | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

King Canute got governance about right!

If we are to become as effective in the management of our pension funds as our German and Dutch cousins, we are going to have learn the lessons of Canute and concentrate our governance though centralised channels focussing on things we can do something about. Continue reading

Posted in advice gap, annuity, auto-enrolment, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, defined aspiration, FSA | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment