Category Archives: investment

Activism over activity – we want effective asset management.

Posted on November 22, 2016 by henry tapper

Reading the FCA’s Asset Management Market Study, you’d be tempted to give up on active asset management (to be frank you might to give up on investment funds altogether). Daniel Godfrey has a piece in the FT claiming that the … Continue reading →

Posted in IGC, investment, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Transparency Zeitgeist is upon us

Posted on May 21, 2016 by henry tapper

I am a frugal man, the £3.50 I paid for this morning’s FT was grudgingly passed to my newsagent. But I wanted to capture the headline and read about Josephine’s reporting of a meeting with my friends Andy Agethangelou and … Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, Henry Tapper blog, investment, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

To understand value, get a grip on price

Posted on April 24, 2016 by henry tapper

Workplace pensions are not priced as they seem. When an employer chooses a workplace pension, he/she sees member borne charges and employer charges. The employer charges are paid by the employer as fees (anything from £0 -£1200 pa, member borne … Continue reading →

Posted in IGC, investment, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

IGCs – a final reckoning

Posted on April 23, 2016 by henry tapper

Here is a summary of the IGC reports analysed on this blog. If you want to read my assessments in detail, please use the search engine. I have segmented the blogs as you can see. It may be unfair to … Continue reading →

Posted in governance, IGC, investment, Pension Freedoms, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why assume gains before they are earned? (guest blog by Ralph Frank)

Posted on January 21, 2016 by henry tapper

  Downturns in financial markets have been known to trigger bouts of introspection.  Current markets seem to be no different in this regard.  Some investors have seen their carefully crafted plans blown off course, possibly not for the first time, … Continue reading →

Posted in investment, pensions | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Paying for other people’s pensions

Posted on December 22, 2015 by henry tapper

I’ve said it before on this blog, but I’ll say it again. The amount of Council Tax many people pay to fund other people’s pensions exceeds their own contributions into pensions, even when they’ve been auto-enrolled into “workie”.   “You … Continue reading →

Posted in de-risking, Financial Education, governance, infrastucture, investment, leadership, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Can the pension insurers win back their customers’ respect?

Posted on December 8, 2015 by henry tapper

IGCs are ours to use and not the insurers to castrate. Continue reading →

Posted in governance, investment, later life, leadership, Pension Freedoms, pension playpen, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Good Governance – Bad Governance” – the Aberdeen Conference

Posted on November 25, 2015 by henry tapper

I’ve been working hard so I gave myself the luxury yesterday of half a day off to find out about how good governance can help investors get more from their investments. Forget the swanky surroundings and the top-dollar grub, this … Continue reading →

Posted in governance, investment | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Terry Smith – What I have learned from Fundsmith in the Past Five Years

Posted on November 24, 2015 by henry tapper

Fundsmith is my favourite fund manager. Like Aberdeen (another favourite whose conference I’m going to today), it is an organisation with a strong purpose (moral and social). Terry Smith is an extraordinary man who’s views are always worth reading. He … Continue reading →

Posted in investment, leadership, Management | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

“Winning hearts and minds” – what IGCs can do for retirement saving!

Posted on November 15, 2015 by henry tapper

What so concerned many of us when we read the comments from the Independent Governance Committee’s recent meetings at Evershed’s city offices, was that they showed no unified sense of purpose, no urgency and worst of all – confusion about … Continue reading →

Posted in governance, investment, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment