Tag Archives: Value for Money

“No more junkets if you cut our margins” – IFAs warned.

Posted on May 16, 2017 by

Delegates at PIMS 2017, a floating holiday for Financial Planners (and journalists), seem have  been threatened . “Platforms will struggle to cut charges without affecting existing services”, Seven Investment Management (7IM) head of platform Verona Smith told advisers (including New Model Adviser to … Continue reading →

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“Ease of use” or “value for money”?

Posted on April 27, 2017 by

Paul Lewis, above all other financial journalists is the master of the 140 character tweet. Here is one of his very best, embedded in a conversation with Louise Cooper. The genius is in the “compete mainly on rhetoric and ease … Continue reading →

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NEST’s dirty laundry on the line!

Posted on April 26, 2017 by

  Thanks to First Actuarial for producing this chart for this blog. Here’s how to read In 2010 when NEST opened , it had no assets – it  had quite a lot of debt (£134m* from setting up days as … Continue reading →

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Winning and losing IGCs – class of 2017!

Posted on April 24, 2017 by

With (almost) all the known IGC reports in, it’s time to see how the reports of 2017 stacked up against 2016. Apologies that the links in the table don’t work, my formatting skills are poor and I’ve included the links … Continue reading →

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Telford’s finest – the ReAssure 2017 IGC report

Posted on April 24, 2017 by

What UK Life insurer is based in Telford Shropshire? Answer – ReAssure And if you were in a workplace pension with Guardian, HSBC, Barclays Life, Alico and National Mutual, you are now one of their customers. They are the kind of pensions … Continue reading →

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Radical thoughts about “value for money” – from Julius Pursaill (aka mystery blogger)

Posted on April 21, 2017 by

  Establishing a consensus on what “value for money” is, is proving too hard for the IGCs and Trustees, we need intervention from a “deus ex machina” (aka the FCA). Once we know the means to measure, I believe the … Continue reading →

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“Vantage is value” – but relative to what? Hargreaves Lansdown’s IGC report

Posted on April 18, 2017 by

I’m pleased that after a really poor first IGC report, the Hargreaves Lansdown IGC have taken producing their 2017 report, more seriously. A smooth operator If there was such a thing as a premium workplace pension, the Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) … Continue reading →

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Virgin Money IGC report;- now that’s the way to do it!

Posted on April 17, 2017 by

  Last year’s report from Virgin Money was the best I read and this year’s report looks like it might make it a notable double. The Virgin Stakeholder Pension comes under severe scrutiny The report does not pull its punches, … Continue reading →

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Aviva’s IGC report – a great leap forward

Posted on April 6, 2017 by

Aviva has quietly become the most important insurance company operating in the workplace pension market. While others have pulled in their horns, Aviva has remained committed to auto-enrolment and now features in every search we conduct for new pension providers. … Continue reading →

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Where next for “value for money”?

Posted on January 26, 2017 by

  Value for Money is the holy grail for the fiduciaries of workplace pensions. In this article I outline how the providers of workplace pensions are going about establishing value for money and looking at ways to improve things in … Continue reading →

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