🇳🇱 Arjan Verbeek’s Post

I am looking forward to speaking at the Equity Release Summit tomorrow afternoon. With so many people heading for retirement with inadequate savings, we need to find solutions: higher contributions into pensions, saving for longer, better returns in pension funds through access to unlisted asset classes and more listed equities are all part of the answer. For those who have run out of time and with a significant amount of their financial assets tied up in their property, equity release mortgages are another tool. But with financial literacy levels where they are, and with the pervasive advice/guidance gap discouraging people from paying for professional help, how can we make sure that sensible decisions are being taken? These are some of the questions being asked and answered at the Summit.

Ways we can bring the Better Business Act campaign together with fiduciary duty, to better align stakeholders in the pensions investment chain, were discussed at this roundtable convened by Pensions for Purpose with the Better Business Act and ShareAction at Hymans Robertson’s offices, in London today. The conversation was framed around understanding the interdependencies and connections between pension funds, their advisers and managers, and ultimately the businesses that their members work for and they invest in. Learn more about the Better Business Coalition here: https://lnkd.in/gBqhbVx #BetterBusiness #FiduciaryDuty #PensionsforPurpose https://ow.ly/oxLT50RFKsN

Stuart O'Brien sets out the legal background and current issues around fiduciary duty at PP’s FIF 2024 🗣️ Read more down below including an in depth article from Professional Pensions ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dWGxAvSJ

When I first started talking about the Better Business Act and changing section 172 of the Companies act to align businesses with people and planet alongside profit as well as instilling a long-term mindset, I could see the quizzical faces. How does this tie with pension investments and fiduciary duty? Pensions for Purpose acts as an ecosystem and bell weather because of our diverse member base - more than 400 asset owners, investment consultants, independent adviser, professional trustee, insurer, legal, accounting, govt and academic organisational members. The thing that unites almost all of the organisations outside of the pension funds themselves is that they are companies - even the professional trustee firms that hold fiduciary duty. The Better Business Act made sense to me as a way to unite all of the actors advising, investing in and with pension funds. Fiduciary duty changes cannot achieve that alone. Why? Attempts to change businesses’ focus to people and planet alongside profit gets met with - ‘how can we do this without support from investors?’. Investors in turn say ‘how can we push the agenda when businesses are not aligned?’. And investment consultants sit inbetween trying to marry their business priorities with a need for long-term thinking (a significantly difficult feat without the regulatory support in place). The answer is that we need a concerted effort by big players in each of these camps to step forward and lead by example, from master trusts to large financial institutions to high street names. We need to align business and investment with long-term resilience by recognising people and planet - all stakeholders - and we need the regulators and government departments to understand this. It was great to help convene and be part of this discussion run by the Better Business Act and ShareAction at Hymans Robertson’s offices. We must be brave, bold and, ultimately, better. Please reach out if you are interested in joining further discussions on this.

Whether you’re actively relying on it or it’s building up in the background, your pension is a significant asset. As with any other asset, pensions can be shared by the court during divorce proceedings. But unlike other assets, pensions do have their unique challenges. Read more on our most recent blog post: https://bit.ly/42hOkNX

The de-risking drive from UK defined benefit schemes is well covered, but are US schemes following a similar pattern? In our latest Pensions Monthly, we explore the dynamic across the pond and, in particular, scheme demand for US credit (for sophisticated finance professionals only). Click to read: https://lnkd.in/eSCVyDut

There is a widespread misconception fiduciary duties prevent investors from intentionally pursuing improved sustainability impacts, but how do fiduciary duties and sustainability objectives intersect? Read this blog reviewing insights from legal and investment experts discussing the the compatibility of the two at Pensions for Purpose’s recent event, co-organised with Phoenix Group and Nikki King from Principles for Responsible Investment. Thanks to Callum Stewart FFA from Standard Life UK, Carolyn Saunders from Dentons, Keith Guthrie of Cardano and NOW: Pensions and Stuart O’Brien from Sackers for their insights. #Sustainability #FiduciaryDuty #PensionsforPurpose https://ow.ly/X8e450Rj7EP

Reflecting on the 'navigating diversity, equity & inclusion' event, Pippa Rudling of Jupiter Asset Management summarises the key topics that were covered and delves into the findings of the latest Pensions for Purpose Impact Lens report. #DEI #ImpactLens #PensionsforPurpose https://ow.ly/wbyg50ROAyt

It’s the final panel discussion of SuperReturn Private Credit Europe 2024! We’re hearing insights from Trevor Castledine (South Yorkshire Pensions Authority), Chen Xu, CAIA (Klarphos) and Adriana Oller Astort (Resilience Partners) on how the opportunity in private credit compare across different geographic regions! #SRPCEurope

The de-risking drive from UK defined benefit schemes is well covered, but are US schemes following a similar pattern? In our latest Pensions Monthly, we explore the dynamic across the pond and, in particular, scheme demand for US credit (for sophisticated finance professionals only). Click to read: https://lnkd.in/eTGZtGBp