Seasons Greetings from Veasey Associates

Christmas 2013 - Deer by Isabella - Veasey Associates20 December 2013

2013 marked another busy year for pensions.

The auto-enrolment process moved on to large to medium size employers, with much debate about the relative merits of contract-based, trust and mastertrust solutions. We continue to work hard on considering the merits of lifestyling and target date funds with justified focus on default fund construction – might Collective Defined Contribution provide one solution to misalignment of risk balance between employer and company ? … only if workable products are put forward in the right regulatory environment.

In the meantime, the Government continues to support attempts to continue the DB proposition through discussions on defined ambition – is this really DB-lite or can something really new being offered?

A peculiar year for investment markets and not one that suited all asset classes. Strong hints of QE tapering in May and June caused significant market turmoil, yet the Federal Reserve’s eventual toe in the water this month seemed well received.

In the UK, continuing recovery in unemployment might suggest that interest rates rise sooner then expected, however inflation does seem to be under control which may delay this.

For this posting and for my e-cards, I’m using pictures from my nieces Isabella and Melissa. This design is titled ‘Deer with Trees’ and was painted by Isabella. A complete gallery can be found here. We all hope that you enjoy them.

I would like to thank our clients, friends, contacts and readers for your support during 2013 and look forward to a peaceful and prosperous 2014 for all in the pensions industry.

Have an enjoyable and restful Christmas break !

Martin Veasey

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  • Author: Martin Veasey
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