ESG: what asset owners want from ESG – and their asset managers
ESG is going mainstream, but what asset owners are seeking to achieve and the role of their asset managers is still poorly understood. NMG’s new Global ESG Study provides answers to the big ESG questions. Based on interviews with over 200 asset owners and 800 responses from US plan sponsors and advisers implementing ESG, […]
Read more...The workplace consolidation threat to individual pension providers
Consumer decisions about pension consolidation are increasingly important to the fortunes of pension providers. Nearly half of workplace pension members now prefer to consolidate to a workplace pension, instead of the individual products they would have typically done previously – a growing risk to individual pension providers. DC workplace pensions are highly intermediated. Most […]
Read more...Are NEST’s members becoming more attractive for competitors?
NEST was established in 2010 to support pensions auto-enrolment, a public sector provider which would ensure every employer could access a workplace pension scheme for their employees. However, for a scheme seen by industry as a backstop, it now has many members with around average or better incomes, and material account balances. The second […]
Read more...DC workplace pensions: rising flows and more switching will tempt entrants
The minimum contributions ramp-up is helping drive growth in DC workplace pension flows. In parallel, the switching “secondary market”, long predicted but slow to emerge, is also picking up steam. Against a slow growth UK wealth market, these dynamics make workplace pensions appear tempting for entrants. But with profitability elusive, is this actually a […]
Read more...Four realistic ideas for the reality of pensions disengagement
Member disengagement in workplace pensions is well documented; with similar issues evident in individual pensions, providers need to be smart but realistic in their communications strategy. Despite the recent focus on engagement issues within workplace DC pensions, it is worth remembering that individual pensions (personal pensions and SIPPs) still account for >50% of DC […]
Read more...Sizing the DB transfer market
The DB transfer market has been a key new source of retail flows in recent years but is under considerable regulatory pressure. Although run rates are well off their peak, underlying dynamics mean that DB transfers should continue to play an important role in new flows. What should insights and strategy teams assume for […]
Read more...UK wealth industry value chain is gradually contracting
Total fees paid by consumers have appeared stuck at ~200bps despite many changes in the industry in recent years. However NMG data shows that prices in all key components of the value chain are falling. The UK wealth industry value chain has been resilient over the past decade, despite many changes including rapid growth […]
Read more...Peak passive: 3 reasons why passive share may top out
The upwards march of passive market share seems unstoppable. But there are reasons to think why, in some institutional segments at least, market-cap passive share may peak soon. 2018 was a tough year for active asset managers. Market volatility hurt profitability while the spectre of customer migration from active management to passive had a […]
Read more...Advice fees but no service: a question of criminal law
The threat to vertical integration has receded but financial advice is under attack. Ongoing fees underwrite the economics of advice, but if services are not delivered, a crime may have been committed. The final report of Australia’s Financial Services Royal Commission was released on Monday; on Tuesday the share prices of banks and wealth […]
Read more...Adviser remuneration reforms and vertical integration bans: a sign of things to come?
By investigating practices implicit in vertically integrated business models, the Australian Royal Commission report is likely to ask serious questions of the wealth management industry: UK wealth managers need to take note. In early February a seminal report into misconduct in the wealth management industry is expected to be released which is likely to […]
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