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Published by vfmpensions
The podcast from Darren Philp and Nico Aspinall talking all things pensions and investments.
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From the feed
The latest episodes published to this podcast’s own RSS feed. Titles and descriptions are the publisher’s.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Nico and Darren chat to Brian Henderson, who last appeared on the podcast back in its early days in May 2023 (episode #19). Brian returns to discuss his recent series of essays exploring the thorny question of how the pensions industry develops, and compares, retirement solutions. Nico's news story is about ‘P(doom)’, sparking an in-depth conversation about AI in which we even venture into the possibility of time travel... We then get into Brian's essays: what prompted him to write them and the conclusions he has drawn. At the heart of the discussion is a deceptively simple question: do we actually know what ‘good’ looks like when it comes to retirement solutions? There are lots of proposed solutions with considerable merits, but all involve trade-offs. Are we properly understanding, testing and discussing those trade-offs? And are we doing enough to understand what people actually want and need from retirement? We also catch up on what Brian's been up to since he last joined us. But if you want to know what value for money means to Brian, you'll have to go back and listen to episode #19...
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico chat with the Founder of Nexum Pensions, Joao Cabral. The podcast focuses on the work that Nexum is doing to enable people to have a pension pot for life, giving choice to where people send their pension contributions. Joao is a true innovator - having been part of the Octopus Money team - and is developing technology solutions to help make this a reality. We also discuss industry pushback against the Government's general levy that funds pensions regulation, find out how Joao got into pensions and, of course, discover what value for money means to him.
The podcast is back from its summer break... In this episode of V-FM Pensions hosts Darren and Nico chat through some of the key themes from the Government's latest (hopefully last?) consultation on the new VFM framework. What's changed for the better? What's still cause for concern? What's missing? This season opener discusses all that and more.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions hosts Darren and Nico chat to dashboard guru Richard Smith, in the last episode of the season before we take a short summer break*. As well catching up with how dashboards are progressing (we're getting closer!!), the podcast takes a trip up North from Kings Cross to Edinburgh as Richard talks us through the dashboard customer journey that is now being tested. * fear not, we've got a couple of specials planned...
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico chat to The Pensions Regulator's Ben Gunnee. As well as being an Arsenal fan, Ben is TPR's Executive Director for Market Oversight and is responsible for TPR's engagement and interaction with industry. In a wide ranging discussion we chat about TPR's Corporate Strategy, DB endgame and surplus release, Collective Defined Contribution, and some of the key themes in DC, picking up a discussion on private markets. We also hear how Ben ended up at TPR and, of course, find out what value for money means to him. The key question though... which the podcast didn't quite resolve... egg on pizza? Is Nico a lone egg man, or are there others out there?
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico are joined (again) by Matt Roberts, Head of Alternative Solutions, at Fulcrum Asset Management. As well as Darren ranting about FIFA and the lack of democracy in the UK, the podcast discusses resilience, value for money and why the future of pension investing is about far more than chasing returns. We chat about whether productive investment can help create a virtuous circle of stronger economic growth and better retirement outcomes, what the UK's shrinking public markets mean for DC savers, and challenge some of the assumptions driving the private markets debate. In a wide ranging episode, we also discuss natural capital, venture capital, governance, and systemic risk.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Nico and Darren chat to Mohammed Ali Yasin from Lunate Capital and Ghaf Benefits about the UAE's end of service benefits system and how it compares to the UK pensions landscape. We chatted through how the UAE system has evolved from paying expats (a significant majority of the UAE's population) a lump sum based on years of service with balances sitting unfunded on employer balance sheets, to one allowing contributions to be invested. We discuss with Mohammed what the future holds for the development of the UAE system, and, of course, find out what value for money means to him.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions hosts Darren and Nico chat to Hymans Robertson's Head of DC Kathryn Fleming. Kathryn is a PPI Trustee and co-chair of the Pension Equity Group's Data and Research Workstream. We chat about the work of the Pensions Commission, including the recent PEG report arguing that a financial safety net needs to be introduced to support any future reforms. We talk adequacy, fairness and affordability, and discuss what more employers can do to support better retirement outcomes. We touch on early access to pension saving, CDC, and manage to get in a dig about DC chair's statements. We also find out how Kathryn got into pensions and, of course, ask what value for money means to her.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico are joined by SEI's Head of DC, EMEA and Asia, Steve Charlton. Steve chats about SEI’s investment-led approach to running a master trust, and how the business has evolved from its roots as a technology firm into asset management and pensions. We cover some of the big issues currently shaping the DC landscape, including the role of AI and technology, Mansion House and the debate around mandation, private markets, investment philosophy, and the Government’s continued push for greater scale in DC workplace pensions. We also find out about Steve's career and how he got into pensions, and, of course, hear what value for money means to him.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico are joined by Paul Maynard, former Pensions Minister and MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys. In a wide ranging chat about pensions, politics and what really happens inside government, we cover pension dashboards, Mansion House, productive finance, consolidation, tax relief, the Pensions Commission and why policy often looks very different from the ministerial hot seat. Paul also brings a powerful constituency perspective, challenging some baked in industry assumptions as he does so. We discuss how Paul got into politics and pensions and, of course, find out what value for money means to him.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico catch up on a whole host of topics that are currently making the pensions news. We talk about Retirement CDC, Pensions UK Retirement Living Standards, the PPI Megafunds report, and start to unpack some of the key themes from the Pensions Commission's interim report.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Nico and Darren chat to Sam Seaton, CEO of CAPA Data. Through CAPA Data, Sam provides the data platform behind the Corporate Adviser Master Trust and GPP Defaults Report, which takes a deep dive into the performance, asset allocation and structure of DC workplace pension defaults. We chat about pensions adequacy, auto-escalation, member engagement, legacy data challenges, and the risks of relying on blunt retirement glide paths. We also cover why investment outcomes matter most, and how better data could reshape scrutiny of workplace pension defaults. And, of course, we find out how Sam got into pensions and ask what value for money means to her.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico chat to Scottish Widows' Director of Workplace Jerry Butcher. In a very wide-ranging episode we chat about engagement, defaults, the use of AI, the FCA's Consumer Duty, the Scottish Widow's Retirement Report and the latest analysis from the Pensions Commission amongst a whole host of other things! We find out how Jerry moved from parachuting to pensions and, of course, find out what value for money means to him.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions hosts Darren and Nico chat with AF Advisory's Jasper Haak. We discuss the "Wet toekomst pensioenen", the Dutch "Future of Pensions Act", which came into force in 2023 and refocuses the second pillar away from defined benefit / ambition towards collective and individual DC. We chat through what this all means for the Dutch pension system from a member and investment perspective, the transition of assets and its impact on accrued rights, and, of course, ask Jasper what value for money means to him.
In this episode of the podcast, Darren and Nico catch up on some of the recent pensions news. In a surprisingly fiery episode we throw out some difficult questions for regulators and the industry, alongside a fair bit of ranting... We cover: * The Pension Schemes Bill becoming law * The Pensions Regulator admitting that scale is not a guarantee of success * Bank of England warnings about the AI investment bubble * The upcoming Pensions Commission interim report
In this episode of V-FM, hosts Darren and Nico are 'out and about' at the PMI's DC and Master Trust Symposium where we recorded an 'as live' session on Pensions and Housing. We are joined by Anna Brain who led a significant piece on research for NEST Insight and Schroders' Rich Fox who was involved in the Lifetime Savings Initiative, as we examine the evidence and debate whether pensions could and/or should be used to support home ownership.
In this episode of V-FM pensions, hosts Darren and Nico chat to Standard Life's Esther Hawley about all things decumulation. We hear about Standard Life's approach to helping people with the knotty challenge of how to turn pensions into income including segmenting members, the anchoring decisions around essential versus discretionary income, and offering a guided “starter” solution rather than simply presenting the customer with a blank page. We chat through the range of challenges in helping people at retirement particularly around couples and data integration, and, of course, touch on the total nonsense (Darren's words) of having separate regulatory regimes for people in contract schemes and trust-based schemes. But underpinning it all is a sense of hope... the new regulatory direction on retirement income defaults gives providers greater licence to act.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Nico and Darren continue ploughing through listener questions, with a focus this time on how the system actually turns pots into pensions. We chat retirement income and pension freedoms; investment in the UK; pension dashboards; product innovation; lessons from Australia; regulation and what the future might look like.
In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico put themselves at the mercy of listener questions in this Q+A special (part one...) that lays bare some of the current and emerging fault lines in UK pensions... Listeners’ questions push Darren and Nico to discuss whether VFM is about member outcomes, system outcomes, or society at large? Pensions exist to pay money in retirement, and anything else is a bonus only if it doesn’t cost members.... discuss? From net zero to DB schemes quietly propping up government debt, the episode surfaces a deeper tension that is at the heart of the system... are pensions private savings vehicles or instruments of public policy? The hosts are critical of the current VFM framework as being too focused on inputs, blind to real-world outcomes, and ill-equipped to judge a 60-year savings journey. Meanwhile, engagement remains superficial, policymaking short-term, and adequacy the elephant in the room. And hanging over it all, a bigger doubt: what if the long-term equity growth story the whole system relies on doesn’t hold?
In this episode of V-FM Pensions hosts Darren and Nico chat to Simon Chrystal, CEO of WPS Advisory. Simon's been on the pod before and we wanted to get him back on to talk about the evolution of his advisory business and some of the interesting stuff he is doing with the rollout of his LifeStage app. Simon reframes value for money as a practical, human outcome improving people’s lives rather than a technical or regulatory metric. He argues the proposed framework overcomplicates what should be common sense, reflecting a wider issue: the pensions industry has failed to lead innovation despite a decades-long shift toward individual financial responsibility, leaving regulators to fill the gap. Drawing on WPS Advisory’s experience Simon highlights both the scale of demand for advice and the barriers created by regulation. He points to rising PI insurance costs, commercial pressure from some quarters to compromise standards in DB transfers, and FCA data showing around 600,000 consumers losing ongoing advice over two years as evidence of an industry under strain and increasingly unable to serve consumers effectively. Using data from the LifeStage Money app, he shows people want control over day-to-day finances first, with tight budgets and property dominating wealth, and making the case that VFM frameworks must start with real consumer needs, not assumptions.
Ranking source
Apple Podcasts rankings via the Mato Topic Intelligence Platform.
Observed September 19, 2026. Cached outside the daily freshness window; the positions keep the date they were taken on.
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