Always a Pensions Angle

Pour yourself some mulled wine and settle in as Nick and Tom dissect the wildest year in pensions for ages. They tackle the Pension Schemes Bill's many moving parts, explore the dramatic LGPS pooling reorganisation, and debate the merits of last-minute Christmas shopping. From mega funds to local investment mandates, value for money frameworks to defence spending controversies - it's pensions, pol...

What a week for pensions policy! Nick and Tom are back for Episode 2, and there's a LOT to unpack. Fresh from the Pensions Expert Annual Conference at Pennyhill Park (where everyone finally "got" pension dashboards), the team tackles two massive stories: the Pension Schemes Bill's third reading AND the Autumn Budget. We cover plans to modernise fiduciary duty and what it means for domestic investm...

Welcome to Always a Pensions Angle – the podcast where Thomas Parker and Nick Reeve break down the biggest news stories of the day and uncover what they really mean for pensions.  In this first episode, they explore why the upcoming Budget has triggered so much speculation, diving into the political pressures, the rumours around income tax and National Insurance, and the growing debate over c...

Introducing Always a Pensions Angle. Join Pensions Expert's Nick Reeve and LAPF Investments' Thomas Parker as they dissect the biggest stories in the world of pensions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Podcast:  Biodiversity is a nascent theme for environmental, social and governance-focused investors, offering pension schemes the opportunity to invest for good and diversify their portfolios. Should pension schemes allocate capital towards this space? Newton Investment Management head of sustainable investment Therese Niklasson and NatureAlpha founder Dr Vian Sharif discuss biodiversit...

Podcast:  The war in Ukraine, inflation and slowing global growth have sparked uncertainty over the global economy. More than ever, investors will need to understand the drivers that will influence markets over the coming year. Listen to this podcast to gain insight on the outlook for 2023 and how to approach specific asset classes from John Mullins, PIMCO product strategist. Hosted on Acast....

Ahead of this year’s UN climate conference, discussions over the responsibility of the world’s richest countries towards developing economies have intensified. Emerging markets’ contribution to climate change is minuscule, but they are disproportionately hurt by its effects. Think of the catastrophic droughts, floods and hurricanes directly linked to man-made climate change that have crashed infra...

London mayor Sadiq Khan wants more power and financing for cities so they can deal with and find solutions to climate change. Cities, after all, are responsible for over two thirds of emissions and local administrations, says Khan, are seen as the “doers”, while national governments are the “delayers”. He thinks that mayors should be part of the UN climate conference negotiations. In fact, COP27,...

Was the Bank of England right to intervene in gilt markets in the autumn, as hell broke loose across markets? Cartwright director of investment consulting Sam Roberts makes the case against the central bank’s bond-buying programme. The Lang Cat director of public affairs Tom McPhail, meanwhile, shares his thoughts on the Autumn Statement and the future of the triple lock. Hosted on Acast...

Silvia and Alison Taylor of NYU Stern School of Business look into the language of sustainability and find it still has a pretty loose grammar and highly convoluted syntax. Most native speakers do not even agree on a common interpretation of environmental, social and governance factors. The good news is: more of us are trying to learn this language. And Alison shares a few tips on how she teaches...

Philip Shucksmith, a portfolio manager in Newton Investment Management’s real return team, and Martina Macpherson, head of ESG product management within the Financial Information Business Unit at SIX, discuss pension schemes and their path to net zero, debating how green investment in different asset classes works, along with the question of labelling so-called 'green' assets. This podcast is spon...

The current political and financial climate has made fixed income markets volatile and uncertain around the world. However, taking an active approach may help build resilience to potential headwinds while gaining greater exposure to the opportunities that arise. Listen to this podcast to gain insight from Gordon Harding, PIMCO fixed-income strategist on the current climate and what to po...

Confused about sustainability? You’re not alone. Environmental, social and governance factors, or ESG, are increasingly a headache for business, finance and world leaders alike. Now even policymakers are creating rules to govern this space. It’s hard to keep up and make sense of it all. So let us help you by sharing some of the most interesting views shaping this space. Join your host, Silvia Pavo...

Podcast:  Andy Cheseldine, professional trustee at Capital Cranfield and chair of the Small Pots Co-ordination Group, joins Pensions Expert to look back at a heady few weeks for the pensions industry. He explains how the recent market turmoil affected his day job, what it means for schemes, and gives his thoughts on the recent Pensions and Lifetime Savings A...

Podcast:  Newton Investment Management head of sustainable investment Therese Niklasson and Aegon head of responsible investment Hilkka Komulainen discuss how schemes can transform investment teams to drive environmental, social and governance thinking. The pair debate how ESG fits into broader leadership, and the impact of high boardroom turnover on sustainable thinking. Hosted on Acast. See...

Podcast:  The gilt market “doom cycle” that briefly seemed to threaten the existence of UK pensions may not have been as bad as the apocalyptic media coverage made out, and there is no need for the Pensions Regulator to take a greater role regulating liability-driven investments. Dalriada Trustees director David Fogarty is joined by Sam Roberts, director of investment consulting at Cartwright...

Podcast:  Former pensions minister Guy Opperman can boast a number of achievements from his time in office. But he was too easily sidetracked away from the bigger issues, such as under-saving in defined contribution schemes, and towards trivialities such as the statements season. LCP partner Sir Steve Webb gives his view on Opperman’s time as minister, and discusses under-saving in DC and a l...

Podcast: Staff shortages and ever-growing waiting lists have left the NHS at “rock bottom”, but the government “has its head in the sand”. Changes to the pensions taxation regime are essential to fix the problem, argues Vishal Sharma, pensions committee chair at the British Medical Association. He is joined by Mark Bondi, council member at the Society of Pension Professionals and senior technical...

Podcast:  A report from XPS Pensions suggests that members could reap £10,000 additional benefits by delaying retirement because of the way increases and inflation are calculated, but trustees are struggling to help them because of the “red tape” around advice. LCP partner Laura Amin is joined by Hymans Robertson partner Patrick Bloomfield to discuss benefits’ inflation calculation and advice...

Members should be able to consider dipping into their pensions early to combat the cost of living crisis, but schemes may struggle to educate them about the best means of doing so without giving them advice. Society of Pensions Professionals president Steve Hitchiner is joined by AgeWage chief executive Henry Tapper, founder of the Pension Playpen, to discuss recession fears, consumer protection f...

Podcast:  The consultation into the defined benefit funding code by the Department for Work and Pensions hints at a prescriptive regime to come, but the Pensions Regulator must improve on its “rubbish” code of practice draft, according to Zedra client director Richard Butcher. He and Hymans Robertson partner Laura McLaren discuss the next steps, stronger nudge concerns, and assess the health...

Podcast:  The Department for Work and Pensions has been clear about the intent of regulations governing transfers, and providers continuing to delay them are doing their members a disservice, argues PensionBee founder Romi Savova. She is joined by Penfold co-founder Pete Hykin to discuss the ongoing transfer fight, the fallout from pensions minister Guy Opperman’s resignation that wasn’t, and...

Podcast:  A difficult balance must be struck where schemes are considering discretionary increases: alleviating the cost of living crisis for some members will have to be weighed against the needs of the current workforce. Aon partner Lynda Whitney is joined by Tim Middleton, director of policy and external affairs at the Pensions Management Institute, to discuss this dilemma,...

Podcast:  The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s 2022 local authority conference unearthed the challenges facing the Local Government Pension Scheme and its employer members, including affordability, engagement and policy reforms. Recorded from the conference floor, Pensions Expert was joined by PLSA’s head of defined benefit, LGPS and investment Tiffany Tsang and West Midlands...

Podcast:  The absence of auto-enrolment reform from the Queen’s speech means the government will be hard-pressed to meet its middle-of-the-decade deadline to achieve it. The priority should be getting the most important parts done as quickly as possible, and introducing the rest of the 2017 reform proposals enacted longer-term. Sackers partner Helen Ball and Mark Ormston, chair of the Industr...