Tag Archives: equities

Has this crisis broken your pension pot (and can it be mended)?

Ever the optimist, I kick off with an image of a pot that has been broken and becomes a thing of beauty. For many of us DC pension pot holders, this is devoutly to be hoped for. Though for some, … Continue reading

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Are we in a stock market crash?

I’m not bothered about market corrections, I live on wages and pensions not on drawdowns from equity funds. But most people I know of my age or above, are dependent on the markets for their income and they are right … Continue reading

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Why do DB transfer values make me sick?

One of the things ordinary people find hardest to work out is why their share of a defined benefit scheme can go up when stock markets go down. This happened last month where the stock market fell. But in August, … Continue reading

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Catch a falling knife?

For the first time since we had pension freedoms , we have a market that appears out of control. As I write, the London Stock Exchange is preparing to open, with the FTSE lagging the S&P by 2.5%. We are … Continue reading

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We do not restore confidence on our own – we do it together

Today we see the launch of the Government’s new industrial strategy.  Five Live’s “Wake up to Money” program came from the white heat of a Coventry industrial research plant. Last week Nigel Wilson called for us to put back the Capital into Capitalism … Continue reading

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Are bonds “suitable” assets to meet the promises of a pension plan?

    Pension funds are struggling to find suitable assets in which to invest, says Pat Race of KPMG in an article in FTfm. The headline of the article is that “North American Pension Funds grow assets faster than their … Continue reading

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“Investment advisory fees up 14%” -why?

  Can someone explain what is meant by an investment advisory fee in this context? The report appears in Financial Planning Today which describes itself as the daily news website for Financial Planners, Paraplanners and Wealth Managers. The article doesn’t mention … Continue reading

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Pensions Resurgent! The merit of the CWU’s proposals to the Royal Mail

For the third day I am returning to the CWU’s proposals to the Royal Mail which I now consider the most important break through in pension scheme design we have seen in Britain this century. I base this on three … Continue reading

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, defined ambition, defined aspiration, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

John Ralfe, Ros Altmann and the cost of central heating.

John Ralfe kindly promoted my article on the lack of diversity in the AE review. The AE review and the pension stitch up. https://t.co/8585n7hOEL via @henryhtapper is spot on — John Ralfe (@JohnRalfe1) February 11, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Responsible John By … Continue reading

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These are the Good Times for savers and investors!

  It is very rare that savers get told they’re “having it good”, but if you’re saving into a workplace pension default , you’ve just had a great 12 months. I’m looking at a piece of paper that tells me … Continue reading

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