All Opinion articles – Page 61
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Opinion
Annuity v drawdown: Dispelling myths
From the blog: The lead-up to the launch of the pension reforms in April last year created pent-up demand in the market, resulting in many opting to take advantage of the new freedoms and draw down a lump sum.
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Opinion
TV, tweets and voters
From the blog: Energy and climate change secretary Amber Rudd’s attack on Boris Johnson during the ITV referendum debate earlier this month included a jibe that the former London mayor, while the life and soul of the party, could not be trusted to drive you home afterwards.
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Opinion
Which DGF strategies are likely to be successful over the next two years?
In the final part of the diversified growth fund roundtable series, City Noble's William Bourne, the MCC Pension Fund's John Nestor, Pictet Asset Management's Percival Stanion, PiRho's Nicola Ralston and Redington's Pete Drewienkiewicz reveal their outlook for the DGF space.
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OpinionWhat’s the point of target date funds?
For most modern savers, retirement will not happen in one day. So where does this leave fund structures that manage investments to a target date? In pretty good shape, we say, depending on what you do within a target date fund structure.
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OpinionSecondary annuity market: Breaking the fetters or recipe for poor outcomes?
In the 2015 Budget, the government announced its intention to create a secondary market for consumers to sell their annuity policies.
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OpinionMaxims for all schemes in member communications
Dense, technical prose, filled with jargon and complex financial concepts. Is this is the type of language pension scheme members wish to receive? Or could it be the exact opposite?
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OpinionAre activist investors crossing the pond?
From the blog: Not so long ago activist investors were mostly a problem for US-based pension managers to worry about, largely because it was US-based companies that they had in sight.
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OpinionBlocking out the noise
We’re all sick of hearing about it at this point, but there’s no getting away. This week marks one of the most important elections in the history of modern Britain: the EU referendum.
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Opinion
Can DGFs be used to boost income with low volatility?
Many diversified growth funds were created to achieve equity-like return with lower volatility and risk, but can they be used to boost income? In the third part of our roundtable series, William Bourne of CityNoble, John Nestor of the MCC Pension Fund, Percival Stanion of Pictet Asset Management, Nicola Ralston of PiRho and Pete Drewienkiewicz of Redington discuss.
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OpinionIs this the mastertrust’s time?
For years, the trust-based approach was the weapon of choice for consultants and actuaries advising employers and trustees on the move from defined benefit to defined contribution.
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OpinionHow to prepare for a switch in inflation hedging
The move to link liabilities of pension schemes to the consumer price index, rather than the retail price index, has recently become a topic for debate.
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Opinion
Leadership is needed for the future of DB
The UK’s defined benefit pensions sector has come under growing pressure in recent decades. But events surrounding the likes of BHS and British Steel have brought those issues to the attention of a much wider audience.
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OpinionTime to shoot the messenger
From the blog: Communications can help people get to grips with their long-term savings objectives, but if we do it the wrong way our attempts to help could fail – no matter how important the message.
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Opinion
Will PLSA’s DB consultation bolster embattled industry?
From the blog: The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has called for evidence to support its Defined Benefit Taskforce, as record-low gilt yields pile yet more pressure on the industry.
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OpinionUncertain borders
Editorial: As communication specialists propose showing the decisions of other scheme members to engage their peers, some pension funds have started doing precisely that.
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Opinion
Ernst & Young overhauls DC scheme to fit the new freedoms
The Specialist: Professional services firm Ernst & Young has adapted the lifestyle and freestyle strategies of its defined contribution plan to suit the pension freedoms and increase risk in the lifestyle strategy, a move designed to provide for growth.
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Opinion
Member communications: How much information is too much?
Many of us find pension information boring, if not overwhelming. The average person may well be stashing letters from their pension scheme away in a drawer for later reading.
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OpinionShould the government look to fiscal stimulus for economic growth?
The answer is ‘yes’. That sounds simple enough, but in the case of the UK it is more complicated. The fact is, the UK government is implementing an unprecedented amount of fiscal austerity.
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Opinion
How can trustees stand their ground in sponsor discussions?
Trustees have every right to be a little confused. Shortly after the Pensions Regulator was created in 2005, trustees felt they were being asked to ‘act like a bank’.
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Opinion
The end of pensions or the beginning of a new cycle?
The extent of change within our industry over the past 30 years has seen pension provision alter almost beyond recognition.