Shane Ross's Latest Tirade

Fair play to the Irish Life table, they must be pretty tolerant people.

I think it is a bit sensationalist to talk of famished pensioners when the majority of pension fund revenues come from the fund related fees of large private retirement funds.

Reading the article I was willing him to address real issues such as pension funds being overweight in Irish stocks or the fact that tax incentives for pensions favour those who need them least. Not Shane though, he's got to the top of his tree by missing the point completely. What incentive has he to change?

That piece got a bit of a mention in this thread.

DerKaiser said:

Reading the article I was willing him to address real issues such as pension funds being overweight in Irish stocks

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But Ross did say in the article you linked to:

Unlike most other fund managers, they were not conflicted — simply because they were not owned by a big bank; they never bought stock on a yield below the ruling inflation rate. Unlike well-paid managers with unspoken ties, they were not so compromised that they buried suspicious amounts of clients’ savings into obscure stocks on the tiny Irish market. Ireland’s ‘professionals’ have paid the price for holding too many locally based shares. Their refusal to dilute their Irish holdings to proportionate levels is indefensible.

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DerKaiser said:

or the fact that tax incentives for pensions favour those who need them least.

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I would count this as an opinion rather than a fact.

I lost the point about locally based shares amidst all the hyperbole. Strangely, he would be the first to hammer the fund managers in the years that they underperformed the irish market.

I'd question Shane's "never buy a stock with a yield below inflation" conclusion. I don't know if that's a warren buffet quote but high dividend managed funds have been amongst the worst performers of the last 12 months.

I would still argue that it's a fact that tax breaks on pensions favour those in a best position to provide for them selves.

I would agree that his comments were lost because of the style of writing that he uses. He seemed to lean toward sensationalism too much which diluted his opinions in my view.