Ban foreign stocks from Isa wrapper, says top pensions boss Investing The tax-free wrapper on a stocks and shares Isa should be restricted to investments in UK assets, according to the chair of a top pension fund who also called for an inheritance tax carve-out for retail investors who buy government bonds. Speaking at an event, Standard Life chair Nicholas Lyons argued limiting the tax incentive [...]
Andy Briggs: UK is hurtling towards a pensions disaster Opinion Without radical change, Britain will find itself amidst a pensions disaster, with millions worse off, writes Andy Briggs.
Pension fund snaps up cut-price government bonds amid Starmer sell-off Markets One of the UK’s largest pension funds has jumped on the turmoil that speculation over Keir Starmer’s future has unleashed on the gilt market, scooping up government bonds at multi-decade low valuations. Standard Life has added to its holding of UK government debt, Morning Wire understands, seizing on a sharp dip in the of the [...]
Revealed: The 2026 Morning Wire Awards Winners May 7, 2026 Around 500 guests enjoyed a night of celebration at London’s Guildhall on Wednesday 6 May where the winners of the 2026 Morning Wire Awards were crowned. From 60 finalists across 12 categories, the judges chose their champions. Personality of the Year Greg Jackson CBE The entrepreneur and CEO of Octopus Energy has become one of [...]
Standard Life’s Briggs warns ‘retirement adequacy is a genuine concern’, as £2bn Aegon deal unveiled April 15, 2026 The boss of one of the UK’s largest pension providers has spoken out on the state of the nation’s retirement financing on the day he unveiled a blockbuster industry takeover. Andy Briggs, chief executive of Standard Life, told Morning Wire that “retirement adequacy is a genuine concern” and pointed to further potential dealmaking. He noted [...]
Standard Life snaps up Aegon UK for £2bn to create savings giant April 15, 2026 Standard Life has snapped up the UK’s largest investment platform Aegon UK in a £2bn deal. The FTSE 100 giant – previously known as Phoenix Group – said the deal would create the UK’s top retirement savings and income business with near 16m customers and £480bn in assets under administration. Standard Life expects an annual [...]
‘More needs to be done’ to help pension savers after salary sacrifice, says Standard life boss March 16, 2026 The boss of one of the UK’s largest pension providers has warned “more needs to be done” to help those saving for retirement after the government introduced a cap on salary sacrifice in the latest Budget. Andy Briggs, the chief executive of Standard Life, told Morning Wire: “Obviously, we weren’t supportive of [salary sacrifice changes] [...]
‘It’s a feeding frenzy’: US consultancy scoops up dozens of senior Global Counsel staff March 10, 2026 A little-known American advisory firm is poised to hire up to a quarter of Global Counsel’s senior leadership team, amid a “feeding frenzy” that has broken out for top staff left jobless by the ignominious collapse of the Peter Mandelson-founded lobbying group. Washington-headquartered Capstone expects to confirm as many as 20 senior hires in the [...]
The Capitalist: Standard Life scrambles to avoid ‘STD’ ticker February 19, 2026 What's in a name? A whole lot of issues for Standard Life's new Stock Exchange ticker; delve into that and more in The Capitalist.
Cancelling unwanted direct debits could revive your pension January 6, 2026 Cancelling unwanted direct debits could add thousands to Brits’ pension pots, as more people look to rein in unnecessary spending to beef up their retirement savings. The average Brit wastes nearly £40 a month on direct debits they no longer need or regularly use, such as streaming services, gym memberships and old insurance policies, according [...]