Latest articles from Chris Sier

Small schemes lagging larger peers on cost transparency

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Data crunch: Chris Sier runs the rule over the government’s response to the ‘Review of the default fund charge cap and standardised cost disclosure’ and asks whether voluntary submission of cost and performance data by asset managers is the way forward.

Cost data collection – is it all worth it?

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Data crunch: In the final instalment of his series analysing findings from the Cost Transparency Initiative, Chris Sier of ClearGlass asks what schemes should actually do with their own data.

What role does culture play in value for money?

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Data crunch: ClearGlass’s Chris Sier shows that the best active funds are usually run by the lowest-cost managers, and asks whether fund houses’ readiness to provide data can be shown to be a sign of good net performance.

The £1bn myth: how scheme-level costs change with size

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Drawing together conclusions of recent articles, ClearGlass’s Chris Sier shows that merely making it past the magic £1bn does not automatically deliver scale benefits to members.

Does paying more deliver more performance?

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You get what you pay for, right? As far as fund management is concerned, this old adage does not quite ring true, although as ever there are some caveats, argues ClearGlass’s Chris Sier.

Economies of scale: do they exist?

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Data Crunch: Does size matter? ClearGlass’s Chris Sier digs into the asset classes that offer economies of scales to large or consolidated investors, and explores the possibility that size creates a cost drag in others.

Segregated mandates – a club for large pension schemes only

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Data crunch: Dr Chris Sier's latest cost data insight looks deeper into the divide between users of pooled funds and segregated mandates - and the tricky implications for schemes lacking scale.

Asset allocation analysis reveals UK’s governance weakness

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Data crunch: Another edition of Dr Chris Sier’s insights into cost data collection reveals an inability of large chunks of the UK scheme universe to fulfil their engagement duties fully, leaving policymakers with tricky questions over how to proceed on environmental, social and governance rules.

If you think you know your costs, you could be wrong - UPDATED

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Update: In response to reader requests, we have now published the full table of Dr Chris Sier's findings on average costs with a breakdown by asset class, for use as a resource for the pensions community.

Not all asset managers are created equal

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Data crunch: In the second instalment of a series distilling learnings from the Cost Transparency Initiative, ClearGlass’s Chris Sier names the asset managers that have actively supported schemes to better understand their costs.