|
John Ralfe Consulting
|
 |
|
 |
| John Ralfe Consulting |
 |
|
See JER article in FTfm "The Church's reckless investment gamble" (Feb 8th 2010)
See JER article in FTfm "Pensions Commission Report was flawed" (Sep 7th 2009)
See JER article in FTfm "Pension pothole on GM's road to recovery" (Jul 6th 2009)
See JER article in FTfm "BT's deep, dark pension deficit" (May 25th 2009)
See JER article in FTfm "In denial over public pensions" (Mar 23rd 2009) & replies from the Local Government Minister & Mr John Thurston
See JER FT letter "Pension calculations have ignored equity risk" (Feb 10th 2009)
See JER article in FTfm "Nortel outlay to reveal cracks in PPF" (Jan 26th 2009)
See JER FT letter "Public sector pensions debate requires clarity on costs" (Dec 2nd 2008)
See JER & Prof Alasdair Smith FT letters on "Did Clare fellows ask the cost of insuring deal?" (Oct 30th 2008), plus reply from advisor to Clare (Nov 3rd 2008)
See JER article in FTfm "New PPF rules needed to protect taxpayers" (Oct 27th 2008)
See JER FT letter "Treasury's basic mistake about public pensions" (July 21st 2008)
See JER article in FTfm on the Coal Board pension schemes "Public sector pensions - at what future cost?" (July 14th 2008)
See JER article in FTfm, "PPF's flaws due to quick-fix birth" (June 9th 2008)
See JER FT letter "Cost of MPs' pensions to taxpayers grossly understated"(Apr 7th 2008) & Sir John Baker's response “SSRB is not concerned with cost of MPs' pensions” (Apr 11th 2008)
See FT letter from Zvi Bodie of Boston University and JER "US pension body's shift over equities adds insult to injury" (Feb 26th 2008)
See JER article in FTfm, "Clearer view of pension costs in the offing" (Feb 18th 2008)
See JER article in FTfm, "MPs' pensions fail transparency test" (Jan 21st 2008), & comment from the FT & Daily Telegraph.
See JER article in FTfm "Postal deal signed but will it deliver?" (Nov 12th 2007)
See JER article in FTfm "Testing the UK Pensions Regulator" (June 25th 2007)
See JER article in FTfm "Alliance Boots' trustees in strong position with KKR" (Apr 30th 2007)
See JER FT letter "No loose change down the back of the sofa for pensions" (Feb 23rd 2007), plus reply from the Heads of the UK Actuarial Profession
See JER article in FTfm "Strain of protecting pensions increases" (Jan 22nd 2007), plus reply from the PPF Chairman and Chief Executive
See JER article in FTfm "More foresight is needed on longevity" (Nov 27th 2006)
See comment on RBC Capital Markets Note 32 "The Pensions Regulator & Kvaerner plc" by JER (July 6th 2006)from Reuters, Barry Riley (FTfm) & Pauline Skypala (FTfm), plus BBC Radio 4 Money Box interview or listen here (scroll down to second item)
See comment on RBC Capital Markets Note 31 "Spotlight on Universities Superannuation Scheme" by JER (May 30th 2006) from John Plender (FT) & Reuters, plus response from USS's actuary.
See comment on RBC Capital Markets Note 29 "Spotlight on BT Group" by JER (Apr 24th 2006) from Norma Cohen (FT), The Daily Telegraph & Reuters
See JER FT letter "Benefit, or otherwise, of funded pension system" (Feb 16th 2006)
See JER article in FTfm "Holes spotted in the pension safety net"(Jan 23rd 2006)
See JER article in FTfm "UK pensions still taking risks with equities" (Sep 19th 2005)
See comment on RBC Capital Markets Note 19 "Will the PPF charge enough?" by JER (Aug 8th 2005) from Martin Dickson & Norma Cohen (FT) & Tom Burroughes (Reuters)
See JER article in FTfm "Big company casualties may sink PPF" (Apr 4 2005)
See RBC Capital Markets Note 13 by JER "Is the Pensions Commission Report flawed?" (Jan 31st 2005), with comment from Pauline Skypala (FTfm) & Anthony Hilton (Evening Standard).
See comment on RBC Capital Markets Note 11 "Turner & Newall" by JER (Nov 18th 2004), from Martin Dickson (FT)Anthony Hilton (Evening Standard) & Jeremy Warner (The Independent). See JER interview on the "Today Programme" (Dec 7th 2004)
See JER FT article "T&N casts a long shadow on pensions policy" (July 26th 2004)
See comment on Boots'decision to move back to equities by Martin Dickson (FT), The Times , Anthony Hilton (Evening Standard), John Plender (FT) & Phil Davis (FTfm) (May/June 2004)
See JER Times'article "Britain must learn from US pensions pain" (Apr 12th 2004)
See JER FT letter "Benefits boost via bonds for Boots" (Apr 10th 2004)
See JER FT article "The real lessons of the Penrose Report" (Mar 15 2004)
See RBC Capital Markets Note 6 by JER "Can the Pension Protection Fund work?" (Feb 19 2004) with commentary from Martin Dickson (FT), Anthony Hilton (Evening Standard) & Reuters.
See JER Times' article "GM "profits" from boosting its pension fund" (Jan 22 2004)
See RBC Capital Markets Note 3 by JER "The Actuaries' Magic Pencil: BA, BT & Invensys" (Dec 11 2003) with commentary from Norma Cohen (FT), Martin Dickson (FT), & Anthony Hilton (Evening Standard)
See JER Sunday Times' article "How Boots led the way from shares to bonds" (Nov 2nd 2003)
See JER FT article "The world has moved on, so should pension funds" (Oct 26th 2003)
See JER FT article "The hidden risks of the Treasury's equity exposure" (Oct 1st 2003)
See JER FT article "Britain's least favourite pension plan" (Aug 1st 2003)
See JER FT article "Poor pension insurance is worse than none" (June 5th 2003). |
|
I set up John Ralfe Consulting in 2003 to help companies & trustees to address pension issues in a clear, focused & practical way.
My clients include three FTSE100 and three FTSE250 companies, with pension liabilities ranging from £200m to £2.5bn, as well as non-quoted companies. I also advise the Trustees of one of the UK’s largest University pension schemes.
As Head of Corporate Finance at Boots until December 2002, I recognised that pension assets & liabilities are economic assets & liabilities of the company, & should be managed as part of a company's overall capital structure.
This led to a radical restructuring of the Boots Pensions £2.4bn fund,moving it to 100% long-dated AAA sterling bonds, half inflation-linked, followed by a £300m Boots share buyback. This was described by The Economist in 2006 as a "landmark".
As well as pensions, I have 20 years capital markets,treasury & transactional experience, both as a corporate and banker.
My practical & pragmatic approach is underpinned by a rigorous framework of economics and I have worked with leading US academics, including giving a presentation to the finance faculty of Harvard Business School.
I was a project consultant on pensions to the ASB & to the IASB on share options. I have been a vocal contributor to the UK debates on the economics of company pensions & the reform of pension regulation.
Before joining Boots in 1991 I spent 11 years in banking & consulting with Chase Manhattan, Warburgs, Swiss Bank Corporation and Ernst & Young Corporate Finance.
From Grammar School in York I went as a Brackenbury Scholar to Balliol College,Oxford,where I got a First in PPE in 1978 & then studied economics at King's College, Cambridge. See biography.
I am available for conference speeches, with the rate depending on the type of engagement.
DATABASE
The site contains 900 papers & articles on pensions, ranging range from academic journals, to Government Papers to newspapers. Copyright for all articles remains with the author & original publication. There is a search facility. Registration is required to minimise auto-spam mail.
FAIR DEALING NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. John Ralfe Consulting makes this material available without profit to those who have registered an interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes fair dealing. with such copyrighted material as provided for in Sections 29 & 30 of the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair dealing, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Since August 2005 the FT has obliged the removal of all articles written by its journalists, including those covering my research notes.
|
|
|
"Because the PPF was not set up to charge an economic rate, it was always going to be under pressure" JOHN RALFE "Nortel outlay to reveal cracks in PPF" FTfm Janauary 26th 2009
"The real public sector pension cost for 2008, using the market index-linked gilt rate, is about £30bn, twice the official cost. " JOHN RALFE "Public sector pensions debate requires clarity on costs" FT letters December 2nd 2009
"Given the scale of pensions in relation to its market cap, BT is the UK’s largest pension scheme that just happens to own a telecoms business" JOHN RALFE "Clearer view of pension costs in the offing" FTfm February 18th 2008
"A proper debate on MPs’ pay and benefits can happen only if the government is accurate and transparent about costs." JOHN RALFE "MPs’ pensions fail transparency test" FTfm January 21st 2008
"When the talking stops can the Pensions Regulator force an unwilling company to put cash into its pension scheme?" JOHN RALFE "Testing the UK Pensions Regulator" FTfm June 25th 2007
"The scale of longevity risk for BT and other large pension schemes such as British Airways is breathtaking" JOHN RALFE FTfm "More foresight is needed on longevity" November 27th 2006
"If the PPF does not make an economic charge for the risk it is running, sooner or later it will fail" JOHN RALFE FTfm "Holes spotted in the pension safety net" Jan 23rd 2006
" Simply to match the pensions in payment today, UK pension schemes need to make a material – 20% or £125bn - switch from equities to bonds. " JOHN RALFE FTfm "UK pensions still taking risks with equities" September 19th 2005
"The Report’s analysis of the advantages of a funded pension system, with individuals holding equities and bonds, over a Pay-As-You-Go system, is incomplete at best and flawed at worst." JOHN RALFE RBC Capital Markets Open Forum Note 13 "Is the Pensions Commission Report flawed?" January 31st 2005
"Surely the days of whistling in the dark, hoping that the financial markets will plug deficits, are gone?" JOHN RALFE RBC Capital Markets Open Forum Note 9 "Are Company Contributions Big Enough?" July 22 2004
"Borrowing to inject cash into the pension planhas no economic substance; GM is just moving money from its treasury pocket to its pension pocket" JOHN RALFE The Times "GM "profits" from boosting its pension fund" January 22 2004
"Conventional wisdom treats company pension funds as if they have a life of their own. In truth, they are not self-contained entities, like the funds of private individuals. They are simply part of the sponsoring company, which in turn has private shareholders." JOHN RALFE Financial Times "The world has moved on, so should pension funds" October 26th 2003
"If you could wave a magic wand & go back two years when everybody had a surplus and lock that in through bonds, that would be fantastic, wouldn’t it? But the starting-point is now different. The important thing is for companies to address the issue." JOHN RALFE Financial Times “The drugstore maverick” by Tony Tassell March 24 2003
"Fear & greed are the twin drivers of financial markets. With weak equity markets, fear is now getting the better of greed. We are starting to see the second year of values under FRS17 & many companies have deficits, some of which are large in relation to the company." JOHN RALFE Financial Times “A challenge to the equity cult” March 1 2003
|
|
Updated: 8/2/2010