My most-read blog posts of 2016 were:
1. Why Anthony Hilton is wrong about DB pensions
This post, responding to the misguided (in my view) viewpoints of London Evening Standard journalist Anthony Hilton in September garnered by far the most views of any of my blogs this year (around 1400 views).
An extended version of this article was also featured in Professional Pensions, and also became their most viewed opinion piece of the year.
The article must have stuck a chord with readers in the pensions world. We do of course live in pretty challenging times for DB pension funds, with several strong macro-economic headwinds making it harder to deliver the benefits that have been promised. This year saw a vigorous debate around what should, or should not be done to the DB pensions system. This debate was further catalysed by the high-profile cases of BHS and British steel, and the debate looks set to run on into 2017.
Given the importance of the DB system to the retirement prospects of millions of members I believe a solid debate on some of these important issues is to be welcomed.
2. No Ordinary Collision – the Future of Asset Management
Powerful forces of change are at play in many industries, and asset management is certainly one of them. Technological and demographic shifts will shape the future of the asset management industry, in this piece (April 2016) I discussed some of the intersecting forces, drawing on a wide body of existing research on the future of work and finance.
Here are my six key takeaways:
3. Consulting firms reply to the Work & Pensions Select committee
In the wake of the BHS pensions story, the W&PSC issued a green paper calling for views on the future of the DB pensions system in the U.K. Given the prominence of this debate and the considerable air-time it’s received this year the responses from the main actuarial & investment consulting firms were considered and insightful. What was also interesting was the diversity of views. Should the role of TPR change? Should there by wholesale change to the system? Will small changes be effective? Is consolidation feasible? These were all questions on which the consulting firms gave insightful, but often differing answers.
Read more here.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my blog posts this year. I look forward to sharing more in 2017. If you’d like to sign up to be the first to receive new posts, click here.