Before you get stuck in
Jonathan ParkerHead of DefinedContribution &Financial Wellbeing
Welcome to the final edition of The Defined Contrarian for 2022. I’m going to resist the urge to mention the word that starts to make an appearance at this time of year as it’s still only October, only to say that I can’t believe it’s only eight weeks away!
I looked back at what I had written for the previous edition, and there was quite a bit about the dying days of the Johnson administration. Well, needless to say, it’s continued to be a lively time in the Westminster village. Hopefully, we’ll manage a period of relative stability between now and the next edition, as we’re in some of the most challenging economic times most of us have ever lived through. This is a topic that we address twice in this edition. Paul Enderby from Redington and Isla MacFarlane from Quietroom both provide thought-provoking perspectives on how the pensions industry can support and communicate with DC members at a time when many may be facing impossible financial decisions.
Tom Baird from Redington’s Manager Research team takes us through the benefits (and challenges) of Private Equity Impact investing. I believe this asset class represents the single largest opportunity for DC pension schemes to make a real difference to member outcomes while accelerating the transition to a more sustainable economy. As long-term institutional investors, DC schemes should take advantage of the vast range of interesting investment opportunities that are increasingly available to them.
Finally, we meet Javier Arias, our fixed income specialist, who discusses his research into emerging market debt and investment grade corporate markets.
As always, please do get in touch if you’d like to discuss any of the matters raised in this edition.
