As the saying goes “A non-executive director is like a bidet. It’s pretty expensive, takes up a lot of space in the bathroom, and no one knows what it is really for”. Development and the ‘feel good’ factor The organisation Promotion of Non-executive Directors (PRO-NED) 1982 was a result of financial scandals like the GuinnessContinue reading “Are non-executive directors more useful than a bidet?”
Author Archives: m1rkov2c
Paralysis of too much choice
There were 4,722 UK unit trusts and OEICs in the Trustnet database as at March 2023. That is without counting the 10,142 UCITS funds domiciled in Luxembourg, many of which can still be bought in the UK post Brexit and the 2,500 UCITS funds domiciled in Dublin; and 177,000 worldwide . That compares with 1,983Continue reading “Paralysis of too much choice”
The slow death of the London stock market
Why are companies deciding to list in New York and why aren’t large investors supporting the market? There has been a perfect storm of events that, in aggregate, had the unintended consequence of diminishing the attraction of the London stock market by curtailing the supply of long term investment by pension funds. The events IContinue reading “The slow death of the London stock market”
Rent-an-index
A poem for performance fees. Tribute to the late Robin Angus, the bard of Charlotte Square I am the very model of a trust performance measurer,I’II dazzle your directors and I’ll titillate your treasurer,The figures that you show me in a manner sad and dutifulI’ll polish by comparison to make them bright and beautiful.Your equitiesContinue reading “Rent-an-index”
What is FCA’s new concept of ’Consumer Duty’ all about?
Clearly it’s about more than just complying with regulations or even principles like ‘treating customers fairly.’ And not just the AoV which attempts the same or the SMCR, which tends to be too role specific and where training is used mainly to demonstrate compliance rather than understanding. But most of those who will be subjectContinue reading “What is FCA’s new concept of ’Consumer Duty’ all about?”
GREEN DAWN IS BORN
A best seller comes to market A conversation and a conversion CEO: Last quarter’s sales numbers look disappointing to say the least. In fact, b***dy awful. What am I going to tell the board? Head of sales: We just don’t have the right products out there. Our distributors keep asking why we haven’t got anContinue reading “GREEN DAWN IS BORN”
Why do so many projects go wrong?
Is everything the politicians’ fault? I am very concerned about the state of our public life. At a senior level we see incompetence, failure and complacency. I don’t just mean politicians. They are (perhaps unfairly) traditionally corrupt and incompetent. I mean the civil servants, those working in local government and other public bodies, managers inContinue reading “Why do so many projects go wrong?”
Rishi’s dream
Rishi has a beautiful dream The Chancellor woke up one day, conscious of having had a wonderful dream. He remembered it well. The budget was balanced in 2022 and there was a predicted fiscal surplus in 2023 and 2024. External debt was only 32% of GDP and domestic sovereign debt was only 15% of GDP.Continue reading “Rishi’s dream”
Silly games are enemies of saving
Speculating, investing and saving Many of those who have some spare money and want to make it work for them fail to distinguish between speculating, investing and saving. They are not mutually exclusive. However, each has its own characteristics risks and rewards, which need to be understood in the context of what a person isContinue reading “Silly games are enemies of saving”
Complexity is the enemy of the simple
The usefulness of collective investment funds/mutual funds is illustrated by global assets under management of around USD 69 trillion – but industry complexity is getting in the way of even greater success and depriving small savers of returns they can ill afford to ignore. The Financial Conduct Authority notes that “there are 15.6 million UKContinue reading “Complexity is the enemy of the simple”
