All Consultants articles – Page 6
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OpinionIndustry must help small schemes keep up with standards push
Small schemes will always lack the time and resource to match the sophistication of their larger peers unless consultants and providers help them, writes River and Mercantile Derivatives’ Mark Davies.
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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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OpinionCMA investigation: Less talk, more action required
The impact of the Competition and Markets Authority’s recent investigation will depend on the way its recommendations are implemented, writes PwC’s Keira-Marie Ramnath, but in the meantime there are simple ways for trustees to better assess value for money from advisers.
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News
Mercer parent's JLT acquisition brings consulting giants under one roof
On the go: Marsh & McLennan, the insurance broker and consultancy that owns Mercer, has announced it is to buy Jardine Lloyd Thompson for $5.6bn (£4.3bn) in cash.
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OpinionSchemes must not let consultants hide behind advice excuse
We all know that trustees should assess the performance and value for money provided by their investment consultants – the real question is how to achieve this, says CEM Benchmarking’s Tej Dosanjh.
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News
PLSA pitch for light-touch tender rules raises eyebrows
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has called for mandatory fiduciary management tenders mandates to be closed processes with no minimum number of applicants, but some experts have questioned whether the move would do anything to change the status quo.
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OpinionWould your portfolio benefit from a hedge fund allocation?
Concerns over performance and value for money have put some institutional investors off hedge funds, but is this justified? Cardano’s Dev Jadeja discusses how trustees can evaluate whether the strategy is right for their scheme.
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FeaturesAvon asset managers warned over poor performance
The Avon Pension Fund has raised the prospect of dropping some of its active managers after a significant period of underperformance.
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News
CMA wants mandatory tendering to tackle competition weaknesses
On the go: UK pension schemes will be required to conduct competitive tender processes before hiring their first fiduciary manager, under recommendations set out by the Competition and Markets Authority on Wednesday.
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NewsMandatory tenders welcomed by pensions industry
UK pension schemes will be required to conduct competitive tender processes before hiring their first fiduciary manager, under recommendations set out by the Competition and Markets Authority on Wednesday.
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News
Disclosure standard aims for strengthened trustee buy side
Investment consultants could be required to disclose scheme data allowing clients to judge the quality of their advice under a new performance framework, which has already attracted positive early statements from two top 10 firms including 'big three' member Mercer.
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OpinionTime gap to stop fiduciary flipping looks CMA’s best bet
That the Competition and Markets Authority has found evidence that most pension schemes look to their existing consultant when appointing fiduciary managers will surprise few, writes IC Select’s Roger Brown, but only one of the watchdog’s four remedies has the potential to change the industry for the better.
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OpinionCMA investigation: Prepare for positive change
Cardano’s Richard Dowell talks through what we have learned so far from the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into investment consultancy and fiduciary management services.
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News
Rate of investment consultant tenders has plummeted, survey finds
Less than 3 per cent of pension schemes retendered for investment consulting services last year, compared to 18.6 per cent of schemes in 2008, according to research from selection specialists IC Select.
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News
Lack of trustee engagement leads to higher fees, CMA finds
The Competition and Markets Authority has turned its attention to the negotiation abilities of trustee boards, with a working paper that highlights the benefits of engaging third-party oversight of consultants or fiduciary managers.
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News
Are trustees engaging with fiduciary managers properly?
Most trustees are perfectly capable of operating beyond the conflicts of interest inherent in fiduciary management, but some small schemes lack resources and support, according to experts.
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News
CMA: Fiduciary management not overly concentrated
Neither the investment consultancy or fiduciary management industries show signs of excessive concentration, the Competition and Markets Authority has found, but the vertical integration of the ‘big three’ firms could distort the market in future.
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News
Trustees with fid man less likely to check quality of service
Trustees employing fiduciary managers are less engaged in assessing the quality of their provider than those with a traditional investment consultancy relationship, the latest report from the Competition and Markets Authority has found.
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News
Can schemes still justify active management?
The average active fund manager cannot outperform their benchmark net of fees, and according to the Competition and Markets Authority, the average investment consultant cannot reliably identify those managers who do. Can an average trustee board reasonably keep the faith in active management?
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Features
Solving consultancy's transparency problem
Analysis: The first findings to be presented by the Competition and Markets Authority show that no one is squeaky clean in the investment consulting and fiduciary management businesses. How can both products become more transparent?