Tag Archives: BlackRock

Dry powder – latent power or a waste of money?

Posted on December 19, 2023 by henry tapper

Financial markets are full of duck-rabbits, where you can show some lines, a pie chart or scatter plot to two smart people and they will see two radically different things. BlackRock’s 2024 private markets outlook that was released today? What … Continue reading →

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

Taking VFM seriously – “waiting for others to join”

Posted on May 23, 2023 by henry tapper

  The photo has me in the inset taking the photo in meeting room 9 on the 12th floor of BlackRock’s Copthall Avenue City HQ. Ten minutes later the room was full and people were on the call from Enfield … Continue reading →

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

Can your SIPP investment make an impact? Pension Bee says it can.

Posted on February 24, 2023 by henry tapper

Like many people , I want my money to make a difference – I want to make it matter. But until recently I had only the vaguest idea of how I could make that happen. I am now able to … Continue reading →

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

Penfold – a new workplace pension for the progressive employer?

Posted on May 2, 2022 by henry tapper

Penfold has launched a workplace pension. In this blog, I argue that it looks an attractive proposition to young and progressive employers though it is not breaking much new ground in terms of investment, governance or administration. If I have … Continue reading →

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

Disclosures “contrary to the public interest”

Posted on February 10, 2022 by henry tapper

As often happens , my conversations surrounding previous postings attract the attention of people better qualified to write the post. In this case Peter Drewienkiewicz, Chief Investment Officer at consultancy Redington. Here he is responding to a post of mine … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“Retire from work, not from a pay-cheque?” Will BlackRock offer a wage for life?

Posted on January 3, 2022 by henry tapper

As DC retirement savings plans mature they present those who save, those who look after their savings and regulators with the same challenge- “how to turn pots to pensions”. The way in which different countries save for retirement is pretty … Continue reading →

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

Are L&G, State Street and BlackRock too dominant in workplace pensions?

Posted on June 27, 2021 by henry tapper

The question has been bothering me for a while. While there are maverick allocations (Nest for instance use UBS for passive management), UK workplace pensions are dominated by the big three, who’s passive strategies are used by just about everybody … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Pension Plowman’s guide to 2020 IGC reports

Posted on April 12, 2020 by henry tapper

This is a big year for IGCs. It is their fifth birthday, it’s the year when the FCA reviews their effectiveness and it’s the year of the pandemic, where providers and savers will be under maximum strain. Most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in FCA, IGC, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Life’s a beach for the BlackRock IGC

Posted on April 12, 2018 by henry tapper

It’s a sure fine of things to come when an IGC report is promoted by a stock photo. This couple appear on most of the IGC reports I have read, I suspect they were scammed out of their pension and … Continue reading →

Posted in IGC, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The BlackRock IGC outsources to KPMG

Posted on April 23, 2017 by henry tapper

I’ve been waiting to review BlackRock’s IGC chair statements for a couple of weeks but all I could see was a link to a report marked “April 2016”. I carelessly pressed the link this morning to find a report marked April 2017.  … Continue reading →

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