What caught my eye this week.
Considering the high hurdle that politicians and business leaders have set themselves for something to be considered a sacking offence, I was surprised to see the boss of National Savings & Investments (NS&I) resign this week.
Of course, the NS&I FUBAR [1] was a rough experience for the 37,500 people affected. NS&I’s mistakes saw bereaved families facing delays accessing their relatives’ Premium Bonds with a total value of up to £476m.
To give just one example from a BBC report [2]:
Tracy McGuire-Brown from Newbury in Berkshire […] took six years to claim £2,000 in premium bonds her late father had left in his will.
The 61-year-old former care home manager says she “cannot describe how upsetting and frustrating” it was to deal with NS&I, and that she had to send in her father’s will and other original documents at her own expense.
“It was the most awful, awful experience,” she says.
No doubt – and not what anyone wants to deal with in the wake of the death of a loved one.
However, NS&I has more than 24 million customers holding £240bn with the institution, so the number affected is relatively small. According to Which [3] the problems were caused by administrative failures – bad, certainly, but not malicious. The long delay between problems emerging and NS&I coming clean is problematic, but again the scale of the operation mitigates this to some extent.
With all that said – and, again, not to make light of having to fight to get your own money back – I think the real reason boss Dax Harkins had to go was because NS&I is held to a higher standard than a typical High Street bank, on the basis of its 100% government backing.
Trust buster
I’ve often recommended NS&I savings or Premium Bonds to fretful – but essentially financially uninterested – friends and relatives looking for somewhere safe to put their cash. Especially after the financial crisis.
No worries about bank runs with NS&I, or Financial Services Compensation Scheme limits [4], or your savings somehow getting muddled up in riskier lending. Just okay interest rates, the infinitesimal chance to win big with ERNIE [5], and a recommendation made in the same vein as nobody getting fired for buying IBM [6].
Also, faith in NS&I’s systems underwrites the Premium Bond draw.
There are already conspiracies about which Bonds win and who gets what prizes. NS&I can do without incompetence creeping into the mix, too.
Further reading:
- A terse apology from National Savings & Investments – NS&I [7]
- NS&I boss replaced as savers left waiting for millions of pounds – BBC [2]
- What caused the missing NS&I savings, and what you should do – Guardian [8]
- Another take on the scandal and next steps if you’re affected – Which [3]
- NS&I will have to pay compensation in some cases, say ministers – This Is Money [9]
Have a great weekend.
From Monevator
Commodities are working – Monevator [10]
The natural yield model portfolio wheels are turning – Monevator [11] [Members [12]]
From the archive-ator: A plan to be financially independent in ten years – Monevator [13]
News
OECD says UK will be hardest hit by Iran war, sees 4% inflation – CNBC [14]
World faces ‘stark and deep recession’, says BlackRock boss – This Is Money [15]
Temporary petrol shortages possible at some pumps, warns ASDA – Guardian [16]
How Trump and the oil price move in sync [Charts] – BBC [17]
Reminder: the state pension age rises in April – Which [18]
Buying UK housing most affordable since 2015 on price-to-earnings basis… – ONS [19]
…as London house prices drop again… – City AM [20]
…but rents are at an all-time high relative to incomes – Sky [21]
Final candidates for seven new towns named – BBC [22]
SpaceX’s mooted IPO valuation is in another orbit – Sherwood [23]
Government defends landlord tax hikes as ‘fairer’ system – Property 118 [24]
FCA launches later life mortgage [a.k.a. equity release] study – Mortgage Strategy [25]
[26]
Who ate all China’s stock market returns? [Paywall] – FT [27]
Products and services
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The savings accounts that will pay you up to 5% – Which [28]
How to swap houses for your holidays – Guardian [29]
Don’t rely on AI to find you the best savings deal – Which [30]
Get up to £3,000 cashback when you open or switch to an Interactive Investor [31] SIPP. Terms and fees apply, affiliate link – Interactive Investor [31]
HSBC, Barclays, Nationwide, and Halifax hike mortgage costs – Yahoo Finance [32]
Five-year mortgages now cheaper than two-year fixes again – Mortgage Strategy [33]
Fixed-rate mortgages go above 5.5%, but 4% trackers are available – This Is Money [34]
Get up to £1,500 cashback when you transfer your cash and/or investments to Charles Stanley Direct through this affiliate link [35]. Terms apply – Charles Stanley [35]
Natwest switch offer: £150, or £250 for Premier account – Be Clever With Your Cash [36]
What are passkeys and why should you use them for security? – Oblivious Investor [37]
The best and worst family deals at major UK attractions – Be Clever With Your Cash [38]
Loft-style apartments for sale, in pictures – Guardian [39]
Comment and opinion
Could the triple-lock be scrapped, and should it be? – This Is Money [40]
Index funds work – Money Changes Everything [41]
Echoes of history: what the oil shock means for your money [Paywall] – FT [42]
Seven lessons from ‘enoughfluencers’ on how to live a simpler, happier life – Guardian [43]
Yes you can beat the market by avoiding its worst days. But you won’t – Morningstar [44]
Why are young people taking so many unwise financial risks? – Bloomberg Advisor Perspectives [45]
Safe until crisis: what 300 years of wars reveals about government debt – CEPR [46]
Your financial past isn’t true. Neither is your future – The Net Worthwhile Weekly [47]
The quiet transformations that separate investors from stewards – Bogumil Baranowski [48]
How to compare well – Mr Stingy [49]
The woes of managing money for a friend or relative – Financial Samurai [50]
Hendrik Bessembinder has updated his influential stock return study [Research] – SSRN [51]
Naughty corner: Active antics
The big problem with UK investment trusts – City AM [52]
VCTs brace for record season after ‘bonkers’ tax relief cut – This Is Money [53]
The reality of setting up as a solo investment advisor – Flyover Stocks [54]
Ex-US markets look a good bet for value investors… – Verdad [55]
…as Verdad’s founder Dan Rasmussen warns on private equity and more – Arena [56]
In Elon Musk’s mind, SpaceX and Tesla have already merged – Sherwood [57]
Tetra Pak: the shape of innovation – Quartr [58]
Kindle book bargains
The End of Reality by Jonathan Taplin – £0.99 on Kindle [59]
Boomerang by Michael Lewis – £0.99 on Kindle [60]
Money Men by Dan McCrum – £0.99 on Kindle [61]
Economica by Victoria Bateman – £0.99 on Kindle [62]
Or pick up one of the all-time great investing classics – Monevator shop [63]
Environmental factors
Britain sets new wind power generation record – RE News [64]
Green energy enquiries surge as households fear price spike – This Is Money [65]
Plug-in solar panels to become legal in the UK – Which [66]
Evan Davis: heat pumps work for me – BBC [67]
Earth’s climate increasingly out of balance – World Meteorological Organisation [68]
The carbon burden of US companies – Klement on Investing [69]
An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests – BBC [70]
Robot overlord roundup
So long, Sora – Spyglass [71]
Human musicians are doomed – Klement on Investing [72]
Inside China’s robotics revolution – Guardian [73]
There will be no permanent underclass – Of Dollars and Data [74]
Not at the dinner table
The world’s policeman is on the take – New York Times [75] [h/t Abnormal Returns [76]]
Treason in the futures market – Paul Krugman [77]
There isn’t always a ‘long arc’ of morality – Noahpinion [78]
Democracy watchdog finds Trump aiming for dictatorship – Guardian [79]
There’s an information void at the heart of the Iran war – Bloomberg [80]
The voter fraud fraud – The Bulwark [81]
Off our beat
Cheap drones are reshaping the war in the sky – Reuters [82]
Five years of lessons from running a bookstore – Ryan Holiday [83]
“I escaped North Korea with my mum. But…” – BBC [84]
The clock in our genes – Aeon [85]
Scientists identify a speech trait that foreshadows cognitive decline – Science Alert [86]
The indirect – and sometimes surprising – benefits of vaccines – Stat [87]
Google search tips and hacks – Card Catalog [88]
And finally…
“Human beings have a remarkable ability to accept the abnormal and make it normal.”
– Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary [89]
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