Tag Archives: Insurance
Can we afford financial services in times of austerity?
Thomas Philippon , the celebrated economist, gave a lecture on Tuesday Morning as part of London University’s Leading Minds series. The gist of his talk is that the cost of financial services (the collective name for everyone who is an … Continue reading
Posted in FCA, Fiduciary Management, Financial Conduct Authority, Politics
Tagged austerity, Business, corporate risk, DWP, Employment, FCA, financial service, Financial services, Financial Services Authority, financial services industry, Human Resources, Insurance, intermediaries, intermediation, Investing, Investment, Investment management, John Kay, pensions, Retirement, Thomas Philippon, TPR
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De-risking strategy found in pocket of comatose trustee
The Pension Plowman rifling through the pockets of a trustee lying in the gutter following an all night pension celebration , has found too documents, the first a copy of Corporate Adviser the full text of which can be … Continue reading
Protecting against losses is not the same as generating a profit – guest blog from Ralph Frank
The Swiss National Bank’s (“SNB’s”) decision to abandon the currency ceiling of the Franc relative to the Euro has drawn attention to risk management and hedging. The losers from the SNB’s actions, including retail leveraged trading platforms, investment banks … Continue reading
What should employers do about pensions?
Employers pay pensions – don’t they? It’s baked into the DNA of Government social policy that a part of the welfare system is managed by employers prepared to fund an employee benefit that provides a certain income in retirement. So … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Business, corporate risk, dc, dc pensions, Defined benefit pension plan, Defined Contribution, DWP, employer, Employment, Freedoms, Government, Insurance, Money, National Employment Savings Trust, pension, Pension Freedoms, Pension new, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement, Steve Webb, Work
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How competitive is our private pension system?
We are three months away from the launch of the new pension freedoms and not much is happening. There ain’t nothing shaking but the leaves on the trees! NEST has issued a lengthy consultation on what it should … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged advice, art of pensions, bank accounts, Business, CDC, competition, corporate governance, corporate risk, dc pensions, Defined benefit pension plan, DWP, Employment, FCA, Fidelity, Freedoms, Government, Guidance, Insurance, Insurers, L&G, Laura Perks- Art, National Employment Savings Trust, NEST, pendragon, Pension Freedoms, Pension new, pensions, Retirement, simon freeman, Standard Life, Steve Webb, TPAS, Treasury, trees, Zurich
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The bondage of advice.
Is this what we call regulated advice? Yesterday I told a cautionary tale about a friend who came close to sacrificing 105% of 10 years projected growth on his pension pot in advice and management fees. He asked the question “how can this … Continue reading
Why I’m encouraging civil disobedience!
I’ve been spending a little time catching up on the Pension Regulator’s website- well it is Christmas after all. I’ve come across this. It’s a guide to employers on how they should talk to their staff about pensions. It is … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged annuity, Business, Defined benefit pension plan, DWP, employer, Employment, Insurance, pension, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement, Steve Webb, The Pension Regulator, worker
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E-Christmas Cards – a very rum idea if you ask me.
What do you do with e-christmas cards? They bother me. “E-Christmas card” is a misnoma, most of these e-thingies seem the product of the thought police who de-risk corporate communications. “Merry” is of course out – a whiff of intoxication … Continue reading
AE – make a virtue of necessity
It pains me to hear advisers talk of auto-enrolment as a “burden”. Helping to provide a retirement fund from which your staff can draw a pension seems to me a good thing for employers to do. If the phrase … Continue reading
Posted in accountants, auto-enrolment, pensions
Tagged annuity, Business, corporate governance, Defined benefit pension plan, Financial services, Insurance, job, National Employment Savings Trust, pension, Pension new, pension playpen, pensions, Retirement, staff, Steve Webb, value, worth-doing
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We need a Bus and a Lamborghini!
My friend Ralph Frank is very good at putting his finger on the problem. If he was a Doctor, I’d trust his diagnosis and I like to think of him with a stethoscope prodding around the body financial – listening … Continue reading
Posted in pensions
Tagged Bus, Business, dc pensions, Employment, Government, Insurance, Investing, lamborghini, Pension Protection Fund, Pension Regulator, pensions, Retirement, Society, Steve Webb, taxi
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