Tag Archives: Michael Johnson

Auto-protection from an autodidact (the joy of Johnson).

Posted on March 26, 2017 by

One of the joys of Michael Johnson’s 40 or so papers on pensions is that you never know what to expect next. Johnson deliberately sets himself apart from the industry to rail at it. He is at his best when … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Poking sticks at LGPS in a “shouty” report – Johnson just isn’t helping.

Posted on February 1, 2017 by

In 2013 Michael Johnson of The Centre for Policy Studies  published a paper “the local Government Pension Scheme; opportunity knocks” http://tinyurl.com/jru498m. Today he publishes the sequel, “the LGPS- the lost decade”. http://tinyurl.com/jtz2jwx In the intervening period, Johnson has seen none … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Ignore “bad “; let’s big-up good asset management!

Posted on December 5, 2016 by

The asset management industry will get nowhere trying to defend bad practices. It should be celebrating its success stories. We have good active managers in this country and we have good passive managers, protecting bad practice among bad asset managers … Continue reading →

Posted in consultant, corporate governance, customer service, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Why we can’t dissolve fund management like monasteries

Posted on November 28, 2016 by

  If you had to pay for advice – would you pay for judgement or luck? Con Keating makes an important point in response to my blog, in denial and in disgust it is required by statute to retain an … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

It’s a lot harder than that – Mr Bee!

Posted on May 8, 2016 by

Pensions are hard – you cannot disrupt them into being easy I’ve been accused of not taking pensions seriously, Hugh Pym, then the BBC’s chief economics correspondent, smiled indulgently and reminded me that the BBC couldn’t mention an organisation called Pension PlayPen … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(Workplace) Isa ain’t gonna wash for a week!

Posted on April 22, 2016 by

  A radical idea Michael Johnson has published his proposal for a workplace ISA, Michael has explained this to me before and has explained his proposals publicly to the DWP Select Committee. The proposal is not just to include an ISA … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, auto-enrolment, DWP, Payroll, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Lisa and Wisa – bosum buddies or a pair of boobs?

Posted on April 19, 2016 by

Reactions  to Michael Johnson’s performance in front of the Work and Pensions Select Committee polarise between the enthusiastic (Michael Johnson) and the derisory (the pension establishment). In between are those on the Select Committee such as Richard Graham MP who … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A soft centered budget – (not as sweet as it sounded).

Posted on March 17, 2016 by

Sterling’s a great indicator of how experts really see a budget and yesterday Sterling fell against a basket of major currencies. We may have liked our sugar tax and our Lifetime ISA but the pound fell against the dollar and … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Paying for other people’s pensions

Posted on December 22, 2015 by

I’ve said it before on this blog, but I’ll say it again. The amount of Council Tax many people pay to fund other people’s pensions exceeds their own contributions into pensions, even when they’ve been auto-enrolled into “workie”.   “You … Continue reading →

Posted in de-risking, Financial Education, governance, infrastucture, investment, leadership, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

TEE(n) – Why would Osborne do anything else?

Posted on December 7, 2015 by

  I was re-reading Steve Webb’s article in the Daily Telegraph where he outlines why he thinks Pensions ISAs would be a disaster. The more I read it, the less I get it. Let’s go back to basics. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Pension Freedoms, pension playpen, pensions, Politics, Public sector pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments