Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Investing for a lifetime – with Kinna Patel, head of investment proposition at NatWest Cushon
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Investing for a lifetime – with Kinna Patel, head of investment proposition at NatWest Cushon
Kinna Patel, head of investment proposition at NatWest Cushon, joins us for this episode of The Professional Investment Podcast. Her news story of the week is the FT’s coverage of the shake-up to salary sacrifice announced at last week’s budget.
While this measure is not due to come until 2029 – and could be reversed before then – it seems a counterintuitive move. The government has reformed The Pensions Commission to address pension adequacy – reducing people’s ability to add to their pension pots at the same time seems odd.
With any changes to contribution levels ruled out until the next parliament, the pressure is on investment professionals running auto-enrolled pensions to ensure they can get the highest returns without taking on too much risk.
We discuss how equities is the key driver of wealth creation throughout the lifetime of a member – not only is it effective at growing capital but it can be accessed cheaply through passive vehicle. There are ways, however, to shape this allocation – climate tilts, dynamic regional weightings, adding an alpha allocation and currency hedging. Natwest Cushon is considering the latter option.
Fixed income helps to preserve member’s wealth as the move to and through retirement but investors still need an allocation to growth assets after they stop working.
Private assets can not only add growth and diversification to a portfolio but also help investors to build emotional connection with their clients. Natwest Cushon’s investment in a pepper farm powered by a nearby wastewater plant, fits this brief perfectly making scheme members able to eat their pension.
Kinna also shared her thoughts on how auto-enrolment providers can address retirement income saying the industry is thinking the best way to address this challenge with solutions likely to evolve over time.
⸻
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Kinna has worked in DC pensions for more than a decade and joined the NatWest Cushon team to be part of a pioneering team that is always looking to innovate and has climate integration and adaptation at its core. As Head of Investment Proposition, she is responsible for external stakeholder engagement on investment, as well as the investment proposition itself.
Before joining NatWest Cushon, Kinna was a DC Investment Director at LGIM, working on the investment proposition, and with strategic clients and Employee Benefit Consultants. She also worked at Hymans Robertson as a DC Investment Consultant.
⸻
ABOUT THE HOST:
Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.
🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
02:10 – Employer Duty of Care
05:05 – Employee Wellbeing Needs
07:40 – Financial Wellbeing & Productivity
10:15 – Pensions Literacy
12:55 – Auto-Enrolment Overview
15:35 – Multiple Pension Pots
18:10 – Salary Sacrifice Basics
20:45 – Tech & Engagement
23:05 – Effective Communication
25:10 – Future of Workplace Benefits
27:21 – Outro
View all episodes
By Charlotte MooreKinna Patel, head of investment proposition at NatWest Cushon, joins us for this episode of The Professional Investment Podcast. Her news story of the week is the FT’s coverage of the shake-up to salary sacrifice announced at last week’s budget.
While this measure is not due to come until 2029 – and could be reversed before then – it seems a counterintuitive move. The government has reformed The Pensions Commission to address pension adequacy – reducing people’s ability to add to their pension pots at the same time seems odd.
With any changes to contribution levels ruled out until the next parliament, the pressure is on investment professionals running auto-enrolled pensions to ensure they can get the highest returns without taking on too much risk.
We discuss how equities is the key driver of wealth creation throughout the lifetime of a member – not only is it effective at growing capital but it can be accessed cheaply through passive vehicle. There are ways, however, to shape this allocation – climate tilts, dynamic regional weightings, adding an alpha allocation and currency hedging. Natwest Cushon is considering the latter option.
Fixed income helps to preserve member’s wealth as the move to and through retirement but investors still need an allocation to growth assets after they stop working.
Private assets can not only add growth and diversification to a portfolio but also help investors to build emotional connection with their clients. Natwest Cushon’s investment in a pepper farm powered by a nearby wastewater plant, fits this brief perfectly making scheme members able to eat their pension.
Kinna also shared her thoughts on how auto-enrolment providers can address retirement income saying the industry is thinking the best way to address this challenge with solutions likely to evolve over time.
⸻
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Kinna has worked in DC pensions for more than a decade and joined the NatWest Cushon team to be part of a pioneering team that is always looking to innovate and has climate integration and adaptation at its core. As Head of Investment Proposition, she is responsible for external stakeholder engagement on investment, as well as the investment proposition itself.
Before joining NatWest Cushon, Kinna was a DC Investment Director at LGIM, working on the investment proposition, and with strategic clients and Employee Benefit Consultants. She also worked at Hymans Robertson as a DC Investment Consultant.
⸻
ABOUT THE HOST:
Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.
🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
02:10 – Employer Duty of Care
05:05 – Employee Wellbeing Needs
07:40 – Financial Wellbeing & Productivity
10:15 – Pensions Literacy
12:55 – Auto-Enrolment Overview
15:35 – Multiple Pension Pots
18:10 – Salary Sacrifice Basics
20:45 – Tech & Engagement
23:05 – Effective Communication
25:10 – Future of Workplace Benefits
27:21 – Outro