Tag Archives: gilts

Good times for DB pension funding? Surpluses on paper, but bond yields spell hardship for the country.

Posted on September 3, 2026 by henry tapper

This is the headline in the FT this morning , Thursday 3rd September, eight weeks before a looming budget statement. This is not a good time to prepare your first Budget statement and John Healey is like the Tottenham Manager, … Continue reading →

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Have we been invested wrong all decade; has 60:40 been dying for some time?

Posted on August 30, 2026 by henry tapper

There will be people fed up with me trying to explain macro-economics when I clearly don’t understand numbers. So me posting this chart as my chart of the week will annoy the experts. But as most of us have had … Continue reading →

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A letter from Insight’s Jos Vermeulen on how pension surpluses can help the Government out.

Posted on July 22, 2026 by henry tapper

My next door neighbour in Blackfriars has written to the FT. He’s close enough to Bracken House to have hand delivered it on foot! Here’s what Jos has to say   I read with interest the recent article highlighting surpluses … Continue reading →

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Demand from long-dated gilts from pensions is drying up.

Posted on July 17, 2026 by henry tapper

This Friday blockbuster from Daire MacFadden and Ian Smith in London, dominates the digital front page of the FT. We in pensions know why we don’t need so many long term gilts. It’s partly that the liabilities of DB schemes decrease as … Continue reading →

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Risk Transfer in decline as Pension Schemes find “risk” is “growth”.

Posted on July 15, 2026 by henry tapper

The numbers predicted by Standard Life for insurers taking on DB assets and liabilities are well down on estimates at the beginning of this year. Trustees are seeing risk as growth and questioning further de-risking. There will come a time … Continue reading →

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Will I ever understand bonds?

Posted on May 23, 2026 by henry tapper

The FT comment suggests that gilt rates are a political commentary from the financial markets. I learn at the start of this long weekend that we could be less likely for increases in rate rises because a man who is … Continue reading →

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Will insurer’s share prices recover- now gilt yields make buy-out easier?

Posted on May 17, 2026 by henry tapper

I’m not sure I agree with Gordon Aitken here. Insurers may be more competitive with bulk annuity purchases but will DB pension schemes want to sell up, now they find themselves even more in surplus? Business Conditions are not always … Continue reading →

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Gilts back on the naughty step

Posted on March 23, 2026 by henry tapper

Thanks to Katie Martin of the FT for this striking assessment of the state of gilts. Those readers who run schemes primarily invested in gilts will find this interesting as will many readers who watched in horror in October 2022. … Continue reading →

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A new contract with Government for the next generation of pensioners

Posted on December 4, 2025 by henry tapper

I am pleased to read this excellent article by my friend Calum Kapoor in Asset Owner Exchange. This is not an old man like John Kay or Con Keating, explaining the way that pensions shape the economics of Britain, this … Continue reading →

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No need to moan, pensions should kick start growth in Britain, not Govt. borrowing.

Posted on November 28, 2025 by henry tapper

I spoke at the Pension PlayPen meeting on Tuesday ab0ut how our hour long meeting with a number of senior pension professionals on it, had failed to talk once about the opportunity the Budget gave Rachel Reeves to kickstart growth. … Continue reading →

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