Merryn Somerset Webb

Let's move on briefly to talk about this business of pension mandation and this idea that pension funds could be forced to invest in particular areas of interest to the government.

And there's been some changes there in the House of Lords this week.

I didn't know you were usually anti the House of Lords, John.

Absolutely.

And it's worked very well for many, many hundreds of years, which maybe I'll leave it alone.

Anyway, that's not our area.

Yeah, we are not political.

On the subject of pensions, we were talking the other day, you and I, about NEST, the publicly backed pension fund that 13 and a half, 14 million people have their auto-enrollment pensions in and how we're not 100% impressed.

And you're writing about this week, but also there was a letter this week that went from the regulator to the pension funds warning them that they need to keep an eye on their liquidity and also that they will face or could face huge costs if they sell their pensions.

private assets.

And I thought that was very interesting.

Costs, right?

Costs.

By which we partly mean actual costs because it's expensive to sell private stuff, but by which we also mean losses.

You're just asking for hate mail, John.

Well, it might be with you.

Oh, actually, you're right.

No, it is.

Sorry, take it back.

The sun is shining with me as well.