Tag Archives: Investment

Standard Life’s IGC’s annual report; deceptively good!

The Standard Life Independent Governance Committee’s Chair, Rene Poisson, published his first annual report yesterday, you can read it here either in summary or in its full 40 pages. Most will read the summary but for those interested in product … Continue reading

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Good (and bad) news on investment fee disclosure!

The FT reports that the Investment Association has stated “we can see a way to build an underlying system, a common template, that will provide data tailored in a way that is suitable to both retail and institutional investors” That’s … Continue reading

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Why assume gains before they are earned? (guest blog by Ralph Frank)

  Downturns in financial markets have been known to trigger bouts of introspection.  Current markets seem to be no different in this regard.  Some investors have seen their carefully crafted plans blown off course, possibly not for the first time, … Continue reading

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What if? ……Investment reporting for the future…

What if….. when I opened Google Earth and ran the cursor over my home town/county/country , I could see Housing stock being built Brownfield sites being redeveloped Start ups igniting into action Listed companies adapting to a new cleaner  greener … Continue reading

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Terry Smith – What I have learned from Fundsmith in the Past Five Years

Fundsmith is my favourite fund manager. Like Aberdeen (another favourite whose conference I’m going to today), it is an organisation with a strong purpose (moral and social). Terry Smith is an extraordinary man who’s views are always worth reading. He … Continue reading

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SHOW ME THE MONEY! What’s going to happen our auto-enrolment savings?

People want to know what happens to the money they invest and we are terrible about explaining where their money ends up. This blog talks about how we can make pension investment as vivid and real as the picture above. Over … Continue reading

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“TEEN-AGE kicks” – incentivising sensible spending in retirement

“A teenage dream’s so hard to beat.. Just say those words and I’m thinking  1978, radio under the pillow – John Peel show – 11pm. But I could relive the TEEN- AGE kicks in a few years time, if that … Continue reading

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Are employers buying workplace pensions on value or price?

We have started an interesting project looking at the reasons given for choosing a workplace pension. Our sample is those employers who have used http://www.pensionplaypen.com ‘s “choose a pension” tool. For those who don’t know- the tool analyses data input … Continue reading

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How do you compare pension default funds?

    An old colleague contacted me yesterday with a simple (but great) question. “how do you compare pension default funds”. I can speak on this for First Actuarial, who provide the investment ratings on default funds for the Pension … Continue reading

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“We all defer together?” – Guest Blog from Ralph Frank

The recently announced consultation on pensions tax relief has stirred up thought and debate on the issue of incentivising long-term saving.  There are theoretical, commercial and practical aspects to be addressed in this process of defining an approach to pensions … Continue reading

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