All Opinion articles – Page 20
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OpinionPension funds must be a positive part of regenerative capitalism
Pension fund trustees, and particularly their investment consultants, are among the most influential decision-makers when it comes to the deployment of capital in the UK and beyond.
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OpinionThe bar is getting higher for ESG considerations
The investment community’s sense of purpose, at least as imposed by regulators, has come on a long way since greed was good on Wall Street.
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OpinionFCA’s response to transfer scandal too little, too late
Recent revelations that the City watchdog has concerns about the majority of the £80bn market for providing pension transfer advice in the UK have triggered shock and anger across the industry. Quite rightly too.
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OpinionPositive momentum behind responsible investment
Data Crunch: Despite daily news coverage, regulatory developments and a growing consensus that environmental, social and governance factors affect investment returns, many trustees struggle to engage with responsible investment practices.
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OpinionPensions tax relief needs reform, but it should start from the top
The debate around pensions tax relief is a polarising one. The 2006 A-day reforms were designed with the intention of simplifying the system. But they never quite achieved that goal and, in reality, never came close.
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OpinionSchemes should be alert to Supreme Court’s part-time ruling
The UK government is facing a compensation bill of hundreds of millions of pounds following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller and others v Ministry of Justice.
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OpinionWhy the time for transformation is now
At a time of disruption in the life and pensions industry, traditional players must embrace transformation to be ready for the future.
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OpinionNew year, new attitude to ESG compliance?
Happy New Year, the world is burning. While readers will doubtless have tried to take a step back from work as the second-hottest year in recorded history came to a close, it will have been tougher to disregard footage of Australia’s south-east being engulfed in flames.
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OpinionWhat challenges do providers face with investment pathways?
‘Time and tide waits for no man’ was probably not written with investment pathways in mind, but those in the pensions industry working furiously to implement them must wish they could slow the relentless march towards P-Day on August 1 2020.
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OpinionWill open finance transform financial services?
In case we had any doubt what the answer should be, the Financial Conduct Authority asked for “proposals on how open finance could transform financial services”. There were other words for ‘how’ such as whether or if, but how was chosen.
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OpinionThe pension industry’s ‘Extinction Rebellion’ moment
We are at a pivotal moment in society. Environmental concerns are increasingly moving up the agenda, and this is as true in the pensions landscape as in every other area.
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OpinionLGPS: The differing approaches to investment pooling
The Local Government Pension Scheme pools are up and running more than four years after they were first mandated, yet despite being subject to the same legal requirements, the eight pools differ markedly. The characteristics of the underlying schemes have had an important influence on the pools’ use of third-party investment managers.
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OpinionAre IGCs up to challenge of new duties?
Last year came to an end with the Financial Conduct Authority taking steps to expand the role of governance committees charged with looking after the pensions of millions of workplace savers in the UK.
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OpinionAll change for pensions in 2020?
Some surprises are less surprising in retrospect, and December’s general election was one of those events.
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OpinionAll eyes on European Court’s Bauer ruling
A key European Court ruling in Bauer is to be released on December 19. If it goes in favour of members, it could be the biggest shock to the UK pensions system since the Barber case in 1990.
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OpinionRisks and opportunities coming from RPI reform
On September 4 2019, it was confirmed that the UK Statistics Authority intends to reform the retail price index inflation measure so that it essentially becomes a variant of the consumer price index including housing costs, called CPIH, from 2030 at the latest.
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OpinionCollective defined contribution schemes: Smooth operators?
According to the Pensions Policy Institute, collective defined contribution schemes could provide “improved and less volatile retirement incomes” when compared with individual DC schemes. But how are these pension funds different, and can IDC schemes learn anything from CDC strategies?
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OpinionTime to get creative with member communication
Editorial: In the UK, adults are more likely to be a victim of fraud than any other crime type. In the past four years, fraud made up almost one-third of total crime, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
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OpinionClosing the gender pensions gap: Lessons from Sweden
Despite the narrowing pay gap, the gender pensions gap is persistent. The main reason for this is differing working patterns between men and women – research by Now Pensions has found that only 40 per cent of mums between 18 and 45 years old work full-time.
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OpinionIs there a future for equities in DB?
Data Crunch: Corporate defined benefit schemes have been shifting allocations away from equities as a means of reducing funding volatility and focusing on assets that can deliver contractual cash flows.