Tag Archives: Value for Money

“What do people want?” – a question for IGCs

Posted on January 23, 2020 by

  The saddest statement I heard last year was from an adviser who told a room “we have given up reporting on outcomes, outcomes always disappoint”. It is not just IFA’s who don’t like to report on the outcomes of … Continue reading →

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The price of everything , the value of nothing.

Posted on November 17, 2019 by

Knowing the price of investment management does not mean you know its value. Unfortunately the outcome of an investment can only be known retrospectively. Turning this on its head, past performance may not be a guide to a future , … Continue reading →

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We shouldn’t lie to sleeping dogs

Posted on September 21, 2019 by

Words can get over-used, colonised and emasculated. Transparency may be coming such a word. I think a better word, that ordinary people get – is “honesty”. I am not a fan of the phrase “to be honest” which usually precedes … Continue reading →

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The Con Keating take on value for money

Posted on September 18, 2019 by

Towards a Value for Money metric The Work and Pensions committee’s paper “Pensions Costs and Transparency”, as well as the Editor of Professional Pensions have called for a commonly agreed definition of value for money for DC funds. Clearly costs … Continue reading →

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Mr Field – you want a common measure for value for money? I’ve got one!

Posted on August 6, 2019 by

In the Work and Pension Select Committee’s report on pension transparency, one demand has caught the imagination of the pension community You can read Kim Kaveh’s excellent article here. Professional Pensions ran the question on its Pension Buzz survey and … Continue reading →

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The impact of NDAs on pension outcomes

Posted on July 23, 2019 by

NDAs (non disclosure agreements), have been much in the news in the past week. The government says it will crack down on the use of workplace “gagging clauses” to cover up allegations of harassment, discrimination and assault. Many businesses use … Continue reading →

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The value you get for your pension money

Posted on July 10, 2019 by

Independent help for all pension savers I started yesterday in the swanky new film studio under the FT’s Bracken House. It had to be built on stilts and sound and vibration sealed as the district line runs right below it. … Continue reading →

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Angela Eagle’s stunning Bill on pension costs and charges

Posted on May 9, 2019 by

Angela Eagle presented a bill to the House of Commons at 1.30 yesterday (Wednesday May 8th). It is a fine bill and I wish it success. It may not succeed under the current Government and may be no more than … Continue reading →

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Can pension ratings be “too simple”?

Posted on May 5, 2019 by

  To my mind , the only meaningful way that someone using a workplace or personal pension can test for value for money is by comparing the money they put in with the value they get out. This is known … Continue reading →

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From zero to hero – the Hargreaves Lansdown IGC report

Posted on April 12, 2019 by

Hargreaves Lansdown’s (HL) 2015 -16 IGC report was embarrassingly bad. I got cross that a successful funds platform didn’t put its back into independent governance. Hargreaves’ Vantage product (now HL Workplace Pension)  was at the time being widely promoted as … Continue reading →

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