Book review: Good Governance for Pension Schemes

Title: Good Governance for Pension Schemes
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 978 0 521 76161 1
RRP: £95

Good Governance for Pension Schemes is a book of essays 'curated' by Paul Thornton and Donald Fleming. Various specialists on aspects of pensions from funding to investment to demography have been drawn together to give their thoughts on good governance.

It would be heavy-going for a new lay trustee, though individual chapters may be useful for exploring one part of the subject. It seems to cover the issues fairly comprehensively, but feels rather 'zipped together'. An opening essay by the compilers is a good scene-setter, but the essays as a whole seem to try to cover too much ground.

It probably earns itself a place on most consultants' shelves. Future editions might benefit from harmonisation of the style, and of the very full content. Greater emphasis on the non-trustee governance of a defined-contribution pensions world would be worthwhile.

Peter Tompkins is chairman of The Actuary's editorial advisory panel

From the authors:

"This book ranges across regulation, capital markets, relevant law, actuarial investigation, sponsor covenant, investment governance, risk management and the corporate perspective. I make no apology for choosing this collection of summaries of current best practice, as each chapter is by a leading expert in their field. Actuaries must appreciate the context in which their advice is given, and that is what this book provides."

l Paul Thornton is responsible for the pensions advisory team at Gazelle Corporate Finance. In 2007, he led an independent Review of Pensions Institutions for the Department for Work and Pensions. He is a past president of the Institute of Actuaries (2000-02).

l Donald Fleming joined Gazelle Corporate Finance in 2005 to launch its pensions advisory business. He has also worked as a corporate financier at Cazenove & Co (latterly JPMorgan Cazenove) and practised as a banking lawyer with Clifford Chance, specialising in securitisation.

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