All Opinion articles – Page 27
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OpinionWhy ESG is not a flash in the pan
I often get asked: “Is environmental, social and governance investing just the next investment fad?”
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OpinionESG: Focus efforts from a risk perspective
From the blog: Every institutional investor should be following a responsible investment approach.
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Opinion
Many schemes are still not engaging on costs
It is difficult to overstate the importance of controlling costs.
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OpinionPensions at the party political conferences
Scanning the programmes of the main political party conferences this autumn, one thing was plain to see: there was a clear lack of pensions or savings policy.
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OpinionWhat might the govt’s regime for commercial consolidators entail?
As commercial consolidators of defined benefit schemes become a reality, authorisation and regulation of these consolidators is being considered.
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OpinionLooking ahead for pensions
As MPs return to Westminster after party conference season, my focus is on advancing the government’s agenda to protect and empower savers, and expand saving.
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OpinionCash flow management is DB's new admin headache
From the blog: The balance of payments for defined benefit pension schemes has shifted. With estimated active DB members numbering less than 500,000 and more than 5m members in receipt of their pension, most DB schemes have a negative cash flow.
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OpinionIndustry must help small schemes keep up with standards push
Trustees are coming under increased scrutiny from the Pensions Regulator as it tries to improve standards. Many assume small schemes will come under the most pressure. While small schemes are not implicitly run with any less care or diligence than their larger peers, there are often important differences in what tools providers make available to smaller schemes.
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OpinionIt's not easy being green
Editorial: These days it is hard to deny that climate change is a material risk to a wide range of investments.
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OpinionThe evolution of the outcome-oriented DB investment solution
As the defined benefit market has matured, schemes have increasingly looked to external providers for solutions to the key challenges they face in trying to reach their desired outcome.
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OpinionHow should schemes react to stagnating life expectancy?
Last week, the Office for National Statistics released figures showing that life expectancy in the UK has stagnated at 79.2 years for men and 82.9 years for women.
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OpinionWhen member engagement should take a knee
From the blog: Pension schemes are under increasing pressure to invest responsibly. On this side of the pond, this discourse largely revolves around environmental and social investment.
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OpinionBuilding relationships to protect savers
Last summer, I made a commitment to delivering a new regulatory approach for the Pensions Regulator that reflects the political and economic pressure continuing to shape the pensions world, and to ensure savers are better protected.
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OpinionFinancial wellbeing means stepping beyond pensions
From the blog: It is fair to say employers have been thinking about financial wellbeing for years – even before auto-enrolment most offered a workplace pension, and perhaps some other monetary protection benefits, such as life assurance or income protection.
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OpinionDo you want to live forever?
Editorial: Longevity serves as a useful euphemism in the pensions world.
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OpinionWhy raiding pensions in the Autumn Budget is a terrible idea
Speculation is rising that the Treasury will attack pension tax relief in the Autumn Budget to divert funds to meet the promise of extra funding for the NHS.
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OpinionUK gilts: The inconvenient truth for schemes
From the blog: Gilts have been a perennial favourite for UK pension schemes, not simply for their liability-matching properties, but also because of the returns they have delivered for schemes in years when markets have wobbled.
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OpinionDC mastertrust consolidation: The long-term outcome
Consolidation is the buzz word of the day. All the current signs indicate that in the future there will be significantly fewer defined contribution mastertrusts.
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OpinionCMA investigation: Less talk, more action required
Proposals made by the Competition and Markets Authority to improve investment consultancy and fiduciary management were more evolutionary than revolutionary, and most participants are in broad support of them.
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OpinionTrustees must not shirk responsibility on DB transfers
From the blog: The Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund has, in common with many other defined benefit pension schemes, seen a significant increase in transfers out of the fund since the introduction of pensions freedoms introduced three years ago under the then pensions minister, Steve Webb.