The benefits of online learning with the PMI during lockdown
With the nation working from home, it has been a big change for most. Adapting to a new environment is never easy and adapting in a time like this feels even stranger.
Pension schemes don’t exist in isolation - the pension strategy always has to be looked at in the joint contexts of the wider employee benefit and engagement strategies. ‘Better outcomes for pension scheme members’ takes joined-up thinking that incorporates the evolving employee experience. The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest crisis that the UK has had to deal with since World War II, resulting in a seismic impact on the public, government, economy, employment and education. For large sections of the UK workforce, financial confidence has been shaken to its core. As we transition towards the very gradual return to whatever shape and form the new ‘normal’ takes, we should be realistic about the unique challenges, uncertainty, fears and concerns affecting the UK workforce.
Responsible investment means more than avoiding harmful sectors and seeking out sustainable opportunities elsewhere. Active managers should use their influence as stewards of capital to encourage positive change through engagement and voting. With this in mind, we consider what effective stewardship means across the asset classes most appropriate to pension fund trustees.
The changing shape of the global equity market cap index: implications for DC schemes
The ‘Internet of Things’ is a term used to describe the connectivity and interaction between people, everyday products and services, and computers. We have been tracking the market capitalisation (in USD) of six stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft, Apple and Google) over the past year, which are connected to the Internet of Things. The chart below shows that the combined market capitalisation of these six stocks is greater than the entire size of certain equity markets like Japan, the UK, and individual European countries.
