The following was sent to Frank Field and numerous MPs, and regulatory professionals:
The Rt. Hon Frank Field MP
Chair, Work and Pensions Committee
House of Commons
London SW1 OAA
Dear Mr. Field,
We are writing to you as a group of independent individuals and organisations, motivated and united by the desire to help protect the interests of the UK’s saving public, through the better provision of transparent, consistent and straightforward disclosure of all the costs and charges they pay.
The issues raised in this letter affect Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution pension schemes and cannot be dealt with fully under the scope of your existing Defined Benefit pensions inquiry.
It is vital that we have transparent, consistent and straightforward costs disclosure because opacity and obfuscation on pension and investment costs leads to:
#1. Decision-makers, including consumers, being unable to exercise ‘informed choice’ properly: They find the market opaque, complex and confusing: It is difficult to identify value for money.
#2. The risk of future litigation: Consumers may argue they are not being treated fairly. Such action would severely damage confidence in the sector and its intermediaries.
#3. Seemingly impotent market forces: In this sector, the ‘invisible hand’ seems unable to work its ‘magic’ to create a healthy, competitive and efficient market.
#4. Poor consumer outcomes: If costs are 2% p.a. and gross market returns 5% p.a., a 20-year-old saving £100 per month until 65 will lose 42.55 % of his/her pension fund to costs.
#5. A marketplace where progressive, innovative and highly cost-effective offerings that do represent good value for money inexplicably struggle to get the market share they should.
#6. The risk that the success of the Government’s pensions policy is jeopardised: Those automatically enrolled might opt out if they are later disappointed by their net of costs returns.
#7. The risk that should the ‘high costs/low returns’ reality continue to prevail, belief in the wisdom of deferred gratification and confidence in long term savings will be undermined.
#8. Investment Governance Committees and Trustee Boards struggle with their duty to manage scheme’s costs properly: ‘You can’t measure, monitor or manage what you cannot see.’
#9. Bad publicity, falling trust and apathy: The public’s confidence in pensions is falling sharply and we want to stop it falling ‘below the point of no return’: This is a serious and systemic risk.
#10. The UK’s savings market, including pensions, not being seen to be well-governed, transparent and trustworthy: That’s a particularly important point in our post-Brexit world.
Furthermore, we believe that savers should not only know what their savings cost; they should also know where and how their money is invested. Greater transparency in investment holdings and the stewardship around those holdings is needed. On the basis that it is hard even for MPs to establish where and how their own Parliamentary Contribution Pension Fund is being invested, it follows that the public as a whole may be similarly challenged.
In general terms, we believe that:
• This is an important and widespread public interest issue; it has parallels with the known shortcomings that are affecting the energy sector’s opaque and complex regime of tariffs.
• Greater transparency on costs and investment holdings will help create the better-served, better-engaged and better-performing savings market we all want.
• There is merit in doing all we collectively can to help sustain the success of the Government’s automatic enrolment pensions policy.
• In a post-Brexit world, we shouldn’t underestimate the value to our economy of the potential for the UK becoming the world-leader in pensions and investing transparency.
• Your Committee is uniquely placed to lead an open enquiry that we are confident would be run in a constructive, forensic, inclusive, robust and non-partisan way, for the long-term benefit of all.
• There is excellent regulatory activity underway by DWP, FCA and TPR; your enquiry would support that work by ‘pulling it all together’, creating an even more cohesive approach.
To conclude: For reasons of social justice, market efficiency, good governance, national reputation and to help protect the ongoing success of the Government’s pensions policy, we would like your Committee to open an inquiry into the matters set out in this open ‘letter’.
I believe the Financial Times are publishing an article regarding this request online today and in their newspaper tomorrow.
If requested I would be happy to liaise with yourself and/or your Committee Clerk regarding this matter.
For administrative purposes (as it would not be practical to liaise with all the co-signatories) please reply to andy.agathangelou@transparencytaskforce.org
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
All those listed below, who are equal co-signatories in this endeavor.
First Name Last Name Position Organisation Website
Nick Boyes
Managing Director Able Governance Ltd www.able-governance.co.uk
David Rich CEO Accurate Data Services Ltd www.accuratedata.co.uk
Phil Ninness Business Development Manager Accurate Data Services Ltd www.accuratedata.co.uk
Tracey Sharman Head of Operations Accurate Data Services Ltd www.accuratedata.co.uk
Aidan Dennis Managing Director Amaces www.amaces.com
Ian Neale Director Aries Insight www.ariesinsight.co.uk
Janice
Turner Co-Chair Association of Member-Nominated
Trustees www.amnt.org
David
Weeks Co-Chair Association of Member-Nominated
Trustees www.amnt.org
John Paradise Committee Member Association of Member-Nominated Trustees www.amnt.org
Bob Scott Chairman Association of Consulting Actuaries www.aca.org.uk
JB Beckett UK Representative, Author Association of Professional Fund Investors http://profundinvestors.com
Mark Miller Vice President, Employee Benefit Consultant Barclays Corporate & Employer Solutions www.barclays.com
Stuart Barker Director Barker Coaching & Consulting
Pete Eggleston Founder Director BestX www.bestx.co.uk
Jo Thresher Director Better With Money www.BetterWithMoney.com
Valborg Lie Director Borg Consulting www.borg-consulting.org
Philip Meadowcroft Chairman of Trustees Brandmasters Ltd Executive Pension Scheme
Steve Lugg Project Manager, Finance & Procurement Consultancy Buckinghamshire County Council www.buckscc.gov.uk
Sunil Chadda Managing Director Cairn Consulting Ltd
Professor Andrew Clare Chair in Asset Management Cass Business School http://www.cass.city.ac.uk/
Professor David Blake Director, Pensions Institute Cass Business School https://www.cass.city.ac.uk
Professor Steve Haberman Professor of Actuarial Science, Faculty of Actuarial Science and Insurance Cass Business School https://www.cass.city.ac.uk
Maurice Frankel Director Campaign for Freedom of Information www.cfoi.org.uk
Tony Filbin Chairman Capital Cranfield Holdings Ltd www.capitalcranfield.co.uk
Edward Bushnell Compliance Director Cavendish Medical www.cavendishmedical.com
Graham Cook Board Member CFA Society of the UK www.cfauk.org
Alice Garton Senior Lawyer Client Earth www.clientearth.org
Jeremy Coller CIO Coller Capital www.collercapital.com
John
Howard
Director
Consumer Insights Ltd www.consumer-insights.co.uk
Alan Salamon Managing Director Corpias www.corpias.co.uk
David Stripp Principal David Stripp Consulting
Andrew Penketh Partner, Head of Pension Funds Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP www.crowecw.co.uk
Emma Gleaves Employee Benefits Consultant
Niall Ferguson Principal Consultant Engaging Reward
Ben Faulkner Communications Director EQ Investors www.eqinvestors.co.uk
Chris Connelly Lead Business Solutions Architect Equiniti www.equiniti.com
Luis Rivera Co-Founder & CEO ETFmatic Ltd www.etfmatic.com
Jan Lambert Independent Consultant
Chris Hewett Head of Advocate Programme Finance Innovation Lab http://financeinnovationlab.org
Robert Young BSc FIA Consulting Actuary Gordon Dadds www.gordondadds.com
Nick Keppel-Palmer Head of Strategy Husky Finance www.huskyfinance.com
Fiona McDonagh Senior Scheme Secretary Inside Pensions www.insidepensions.com
SV Rangan Director IFG Worldwide Ltd
Jane
Marshall
Partner
Jane Marshall Consulting LLP
www.janemarshallconsulting.com
James Meenan Principal JNM Investment Governance http://www.jnmresearch.com
Mike Hopwood Head of Pensions Kier Business Services www.kier.co.uk
Vidya Nathan Aspiring Investment Consultant
Mike Barrett Consulting Director The Lang Cat www.langcatfinancial.com
Jeff Houston Head of Pensions Local Government Association www.local.gov.uk
Francisco Gomes Professor of Finance London Business School www.london.edu
Philip Brown Head of Policy LV= www.lv.com
Terence Prideaux Managing Director Morley Hall Ltd
Tim Walton Manager, Data and Research Strategy Morningstar www.morningstar.co.uk
Barry Mack Client Director Muse Advisory www.museadvisory.com
Alan Browne CEO MyFutureNow www.myfuturenow.co.uk
Malcolm Booth Chief Executive Officer
National Federation of Occupational Pensioners www.nfop.org.uk
Alex Noble Director Noble & Associates Ltd http://www.citynoble.com
JB Beckett Consulting Chie Investment Officer and Author New Fund Order Consulting
Derek Bradley Founder & CEO Panacea Adviser www.panaceaadviser.com
Callum Mayor Associate
Partner PEN Partnership LLP www.penpartnership.com
Henry Tapper Founder Pension PlayPen www.pensionplaypen.com
Philip Miller Founder Pensions Focus www.pensionfocus.net
Tim Middleton Technical Consultant Pensions Management Institute www.pensions-pmi.org.uk
Daniel Godfrey co-Founder The People’s Trust. www.thepeoplestrust.co.uk
Rohan Sivajoti Director, Postcard Planning www.postcardplanning.co.uk
Jon A Collins Director Professional Pensions and Investments Ltd.
Andy Scott Principal Punter Southall www.puntersouthall.com
Paul Trickett Chair Railpen Investment www.rpmi.co.uk
Malcolm Small Executive Chairman Retirement Income Alliance Ltd www.riaonline.co.uk
Rob Lake Responsible Investment Advisor Rob Lake Advisors www.roblakeadvisors.co.uk
Nick Greenwood Pension Fund Manager The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead https://www3.rbwm.gov.uk
Tony Greenham Director of Economy, Enterprise and Manufacturing Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce www.rsa.org.uk
David Pitt-Watson Leader The RSA’s Tomorrow’s Investor Project https://www.thersa.org/action-and-research/rsa-projects/economy-enterprise-manufacturing-folder/pensions
Dr. Hari Mann Director The RSA’s Tomorrow’s Investor Project https://www.thersa.org/action-and-research/rsa-projects/economy-enterprise-manufacturing-folder/pensions
Adam French Co-founder & Managing Director Scalable Capital Ltd Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Shazia Afghan Litigation and Contentious Regulatory Lawyer/Institute Fellow Seven Pillars Institute for Global Finance and Ethics www.sevenpillarsinstitute.org
Catherine Howarth Chief Executive ShareAction www.shareaction.org
Lesley
James Lead Adviser & Co-Director
Simplified Money
www.simplified-money.co.uk
Sarah Hutchinson Consultant S J Hutchinson Ltd
Andrew Evans Chief Executive Officer Smart Pension www.autoenrolment.co.uk
Gerry Wright Partner Smith & Williamson Investment Management www.smithandwilliamson.co.uk
Dr. Daniela Carosio Senior Partner Sustainable Value Investors www.sustainablevalueinvestors.com
Graham Wrightson Partner Stephenson Harwood LLP www.shlegal.com
John Serocold Principal Studio Serocold
Dan Norman CEO TCF Investment www.tcfinvestment.com
Mark Goyder Founder & Chief Executive Tomorrow’s Company www.tomorrowscompany.com
Andy Agathangelou Founding Chair Transparency Task Force www.transparencytaskforce.org
Nic Round Client Strategist & Wealth Adviser Treowe Wealth Partners www.treowe.co
Tim Sharp Policy Officer TUC www.tuc.org.uk
Alex Letts Chief Unbanking Officer U www.uaccount.uk
Michelle Baddeley Professor in Economics & Finance UCL Bartlett Faculty of Built Environment
University College London www.ucl.ac.uk
Markus Krebsz Interim CRO Member of UNECE GRM www.unece.grm
Steve Kenzie Executive Director United Nations Global Compact UK www.unglobalcompact.org
Noel Whiteside Professor of Comparative Public Policy University of Warwick www2.warwick.ac.uk
Paul Hewitt Senior Business Development Manager Vigeo Eiris www.eiris.org
Michael Cotter Solicitor Advocate & Partner Waterside Legal LLP www.waterside.legal
Geik Drever Strategic Director of Pensions West Midlands Pension Fund www.wmpfonline.com
Stuart Travers Director Winterbourne Trustee Services Limited. www.winterbourne-trustee.co.uk
Steve Conley Managing Director Workplace Pensions Direct www.workplacepensionsdirect.co.uk
In addition to the above, the individuals listed below from outside the UK also wish the UK’s Work & Pensions Committee to open an inquiry into costs and charges in pensions and investments on the basis that doing so will help shine a light on what is a very international problem; and perhaps help the international community coalescing around this issue to develop some international best practice. The UK can help to lead the way.
First Name Last Name Position Organisation Website Country
Sam Instone CEO AES International www.aesinternational.com
United Arab Emirates (DIFC)
Preston
McSwain
Managing Partner Fiduciary Wealth Partners www.FWP.Partners
USA
Ronan O’Houlihan Founder Calm Financial Care www.calmfinancialcare.ie
Ireland
Stephen Davis Associate Director and Senior Fellow, Programs on Corporate Governance and Institutional Investors Harvard Law School https://pcg.law.harvard.edu
USA
Richard Field Founder Institute for Financial Transparency http://instituteforfinancialtransparency.com
USA
Paul M. Secunda Professor of Law and Director, Labor and Employment Law Program Marquette University Law School www.marquett.edu
USA
Phil Stockton FHKSI MCSI Director Private Capital Ltd http://www.private-capital.com.hk
Hong Kong
Dr. Kara Tan Bhala President and Founder Seven Pillars Institute for Global Finance and Ethics www.sevenpillarsinstitute.org
USA
Oren Kaplan Co-Founder Sharing Alpha www.sharingalpha.com
Israel
Nicholas Morris Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
www.unsw.edu.au
Australia
Erik Conley Founder ZenInvestor www.zeninvestor.org
USA
