Tag Archives: Consultants

Consultants – we must end the “AMC limbo” now!

Posted on April 27, 2023 by henry tapper

A long time ago , I and a colleague were presenting to the trustees of the parliamentary DB pension plan (the PCPF), an alternative AVC arrangement to the Equitable Life (whose proposition was collapsing). We knew that we were offering … Continue reading →

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Forget the doors, we need new stables – FCA and TPR’s LDI guidance

Posted on April 25, 2023 by henry tapper

I doubt that any conversation surrounding TPR and FCA’s guidance on managing LDI will not reference stable doors, horses, creaking hinges or boults. Being wise after the event is something we are all very good at, being wise before the … Continue reading →

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Combining pensions – what are Dan and Steve really up to?

Posted on August 22, 2022 by henry tapper

  Dan Mikulskis and Steve Webb have teamed up to write a paper aimed at people considering combining their pension pots. They are writing for the kind of sophisticated consumer who knows their way around pensions and is thinking of … Continue reading →

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Ros Altmann’s defence of pension consultants (contested).

Posted on March 2, 2021 by henry tapper

I wouldn’t say my “postbag was full” , but my recent blog on the damage inflicted by pension consultants on the UK pension framework has raised a few heckles on social media. Having worked in pension consultancies for nearly twenty … Continue reading →

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93% of advisers put two fingers up to TPR’s Fast Track funding proposals

Posted on August 13, 2020 by henry tapper

The UK #pensions sector has undertaken a temperature check on major changes to a funding code, governing DB schemes, proposed by the Regulator. The result was a cool response to proposals for a new “twin track” approach to scheme valuations. … Continue reading →

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Managing means knowing what to measure

Posted on June 17, 2020 by henry tapper

  One of the most interesting (and challenging) parts of running a blog is in encouraging and moderating comments. This site gets quite few (real) comments, but sometimes the comments are as insightful as the blogs they comment on. Such … Continue reading →

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CMA investment probe shock; the big three breathe again!

Posted on July 19, 2018 by henry tapper

It shows the distance between the consumer and the investment consultant that all but a handful of readers will know what this headline refers to. To the general public, the Competition and Markets Authority’s probe into the opaque world of … Continue reading →

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Alright LCP and First Actuarial – here’s my ESG challenge to you!

Posted on April 20, 2018 by henry tapper

I’d alert readers to an excellent thought piece by LCP consultant, Sam Cobley. You can read it here. Sam ponders why, while every trustee and IGC chair is now commenting on Responsible Investment and Environmental, Social and Governance issues. So few … Continue reading →

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The herd mentality that leads us to DC

Posted on March 8, 2018 by henry tapper

Luke 8:32-33 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into … Continue reading →

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How small schemes can win (with no surrender)!

Posted on October 22, 2017 by henry tapper

I’m listening to Bruce Springsteen – “no retreat, baby no surrender” A useful note about “the consolidation opportunity” sits in my inbox. It’s from Con Keating who had been studying the ONS data on how pension schemes invest their money.  He … Continue reading →

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