Changing World, New Opportunities

This week on the podcast, we chat to Paul Watson about the Australian superannuation system. Paul has spent years as a senior executive in the superannuation fund world, most recently at Hostplus, one of Australia’s largest supers.We learn how the value for money debate has been ‘run and won’ in Australia, how Aussie superfunds got to grips with investing in private markets and why the Aussies are moving in the opposite direction to the Brits when it comes to retirement decision-making. Paul also offers his advice to UK policymakers as the Pensions Investment Review moves forward. Paul stresses to us that Australia’s pension system isn’t perfect, either. He tells us the one thing he would change if he were pensions minister for a day, why the Brits are arguably doing engagement better than the Aussies and offers us some great advice. We so enjoyed exchanging notes with Paul – and we hope you learn as much as we did from the conversation.

Welcome to a brand new season of Changing World, New Opportunities! This season, we’re chatting to international policymakers and pensions experts about their DC systems. What are the challenges? What would they change about it? And – crucially – what can we learn in the UK?Diane Maxwell kicks off the season with a bang. The former retirement commissioner for New Zealand gives us the lowdown on the country’s pensions system, the flipside of consumer engagement, how retirement works and the crucial differences between the UK and New Zealand’s tax systems – as well as the key lessons she’d pass on to UK policymakers.

This week’s guest is Tim Orton, CIO at Aegon. We enjoyed chatting about how making the world better for his grandchildren feeds into Tim’s passion for combatting climate change. 2022 caused him to think differently about diversification, risk and members’ journeys. Plus, Tim tells us why Aegon signed the Mansion House Compact. Enjoy the episode!

This week, Lorna and Louise really enjoyed talking to Naomi Clark, head of investment product management at USS. We find out about Naomi's long and winding road into pensions - from an English degree, via a start in shipping, to where she is today.Naomi tells us about a bumpy start to USS' private markets journey and shares the reason why USS hasn't signed the Mansion House Compact.Please note these are Naomi’s personal framings of USS’ formal positions.

This week, we had a great chat with Liz Fernando, CIO of Nest. We learn about why her time as a smaller companies analyst was a great training ground, why shorthand can be dangerous in investment, and what keeps Liz awake at night - where she gives us possibly the most poignant answer of the series so far. Happy listening!

This week, Lorna and Louise chat to James Lawrence, head of investment proposition at Smart Pension. James shares a snapshot of what's on his agenda, as well as what he thinks the secret to engagement might be.We overcame numerous technology failures to record this episode - and we hope you agree that it's a great one!

On the podcast this week, we chat to Emma Matthews, head of investment at NOW: Pensions. We find out about Emma's career path and how it's given her a different perspective on the member experience of investment. Plus, what's on NOW: Pensions' agenda right now? And what's keeping Emma awake at night?

This week, Lorna and Louise speak to Mercer's Jane Walker. We talk about why blips are inevitable in the investment world, and why she thinks members should stay in the driving seat instead of looking under the bonnet. We also find out Jane's one ask of asset managers and discover our mutual hatred of hills. It's a great episode - enjoy!

We kick off season two of Changing World, New Opportunities with a fantastic guest: Julius Pursaill, strategic adviser to master trust Cushon. Julius spoke up for the Mansion House reforms and inspired us to rethink our definition of fiduciary duty. He also shared some great ways to get members engaged with investment. At the start of the episode, we also introduce new co-host Lorna Kennedy, this year’s chair of the DCIF. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.

In this outro episode, Jon and Louise close out season one of the podcast and reflect on the highlights of the series - as well as what's in store for season two.