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It takes a long time to build up a company, a shorter time span to knock it down. I have done very well out of Aviva, however, I am not impressed with Ms Blanc. I wish you all great success in the future. It is time for me to sell on Monday and invest elsewhere. Good luck to you all and happy Xmas. I wish you a profitable new year.
Meor u misssed out, can be fun to be under a man of colour.
..
Fed up.. my portfolio so well balanced it doesn't go down, but it didn't go up last few days either. If whole sip had been in aviva lgen I would have done much better. and locked in high divi. but its sposed to be clever to be diversified.
Tempted to rearrange once again to say just 6 superhigh yields.. that now would include housebuilders insurers, and junk uranium etc !!!!!!!!!
I cant see funds being better for long term rising divi, most 3.5% yield ish.
Would it be crazy to hold aviva lgen tw barratts php rio
The small stocks just about to multibag.. greatland gold oxford bio
.... Just wish there were a couple of global high growth income trusts that averaged 5% divi rising 4% for inflation !!!!!!!! Nearest I can find is cty, looked at shroeder but shocked they want to hold diaggio.
Personally don’t understand why people feel threatened.
If you are good enough you get the job.
If you don’t get it and you deserve it you move on.
I would be more worried from a business point.
If she had said we use the old boys network of which School tie do you wear ,as that’s always how it’s been.
Some of my best and worst bosses have been female,but that’s coincidence , as I could also say the same about white males.
Never worked under a person of colour,purely due to them being very underrepresented during my working career.
But that’s all just my opinion .
Others will feel different
Well that’s very easy to fix:
1.- More white middle aged privileged men employed…..
2- low cut dresses and Stockings compulsory.
3- leg crossing while seated compulsory.
4- All lower ranked employees (women) to make coffee and sandwiches on demand.
5- Any promotions or pay rises will only be approved by signing consent contracts before a minimum of one hour in the manager’s office…
Male managers revision up 72.3%…..
Am I missing the point..?
No offense intended, Guitarsolo but there is an element of spin here. If, as you've highlighted, the intent is to increase representation of groups other than white males, then by default you are looking to reduce the representation levels of white males; it is an inevitable consequence. Just because you don't word it like that does not mean that isn't the intended effect and people will see through the veiled description.
'Targets' can drive bad behaviours, particularly if senior staff's annual assessment (and/or bonuses) includes achieving these targets. I refuse to believe the introduction of targets (regardless of what they are) will not introduce bias (conscious or unconscious).
In addition, I wonder how on hearing this the Aviva workforce feels. On the assumption (right or wrong) it is predominantly white male, there is a risk the largest element of the workforce could feel a little alienated or believe the promotion system could appear rigged, due to aspirations to increase representation levels of a group they are not part of.
BTW, I'm a white male and a huge fan of a meritocracy. My current and last 2 bosses are/were female and not all were white. I am/was very happy working for all of them. Their sex/skin colour has no bearing on their abilities.
Dear Ms Blanc,
The ESG credentials have been highly polished and loudly proclaimed. However, there appear to be a few other issues worthy of your attention on the analysts' AVIVA scorecard (please see below).
This shareholder would appreciate some effective management attention to them.
Thank you.
AceofClubs
Summary
1.) Overall, the company has poor fundamentals for a medium to long-term investment strategy.
2.) From a short-term investment perspective, the company presents a deteriorated fundamental configuration.
3.)The company has a good ESG score relative to its sector, according to Refinitiv.
Weaknesses
As estimated by analysts, this group is among those businesses with the lowest growth prospects.
The company sustains low margins.
For the last twelve months, the trend in sales revisions has been clearly going down, which emphasizes downgraded expectations from the analysts.
For the last 12 months, analysts have been regularly downgrading their EPS expectations. Analysts predict worse results for the company against their predictions a year ago.
Sales estimates for the next fiscal years vary from one analyst to another. This clearly highlights a lack of visibility into the company's future activity.
"no nicktims, you're still not getting it. there is no policy that says a black person should get a job over a white person." your quote, not mine. in which case lets stop wasting any further time on semantics. best person for the job. and i don't care if that means all black, transgender, binary *******s, as long as, they are the best person for the job.
No Nicktims, you're still not getting it. There is no policy that says a black person should get a job over a white person. None. It is a complete misrepresentation to claim there is. It is a policy that strives to ensure that a white (male) didn't get the role because they are white (male). It is removing a positive bias that has been there before. If you don't believe there was such a bias, you're naive. What, you think in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s etc white men were always the best choice?!
It's not about changing the past, it's about ensuring the future is better for everyone. Simple as that.
equally, you could argue your statement is ****** towards non white people. e.g. a black person got the job because they are black, not because they are the best person for the job. we all bleed the same colour,
Rooba, Aviva are not "aiming to actively reduce the proportion of white men in senior roles". They are looking to increase the representation of women and non-white people in senior roles. As Meconopsis has tried to point out, this is designed to represent the proportions of women and non-white people in financial services.
Mecon is also correct to say that all financial services companies are signed up to this. I sit/have sat on the boards of three financial services companies in the City. We realised decades ago that senior roles were not representative of the workforce, which they need to be. Financial services at a mid to upper level is near 50/50 in my experience since it is not a role in which gender makes a jot of difference. This is slowly moving to senior executive roles.
Having a "target" is not a "quota". I note you can't defend your previous misrepresentation. It makes perfect sense for companies to have a "target" of a certain mixed representation. The 13% of ethnic minorities is similar to the proportion nationally. It's not about reducing the proportion of white men, it's about increasing the proportion of others. Simple as.
"People looking for 50/50 gender splits are fools who don't understand human behaviour, and don't apply that logic to cr_appy jobs where men make up the majority of the workforce."
So social care, cleaning, caring, catering, retail, childcare etc....all crppy jobs where WOMEN make up the majority of the workforce. Financial services has no reason not the be a balanced representation.
I appreciate that the majority of people on here are going to be probably retired, probably white, probably middle-class, probably male. If you have daughters/ granddaughters of so 20+ years of age, go and talk to them about the world as they see it. You'll find they think very differently to you.
Being a white person, she should step down. If she spends time on the Woke brigade, she'll have less time to focus on shareholder value. BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB IS THE RIGHT WAY FORWARD.
rather than the woke reverse racism/ sexism perhaps they could manage to build a competent and professional hr department. as a shareholder i don't give a to55 who gets the job providing its the best and most competent candidate. if indeed aviva do have *targets" this is in itself is ****** /sexist or "unconscious bias".
Had a good run since September, but has Blanc put a nail in the coffin?
Considering the demographic she doesn't like pay for the most if Aviva services, not great to slate the customers.
They could make a good start by replacing the white women with non-white women.
Meconopis, Aviva have a target of 13% "ethnically diverse" senior leaders in their charter and 40% women senior leaders.
So I'd just love to hear your explanation of how they could achieve this without reducing the proportion of white men in these roles. I think I'll be waiting a while. . . . .
I understand that discrimination is always discrimination, and not "positive" because others approve of who is being discriminated against.
Well, they triey tried all of this with the RAF and look what happened there. Still, better throw my Dambusters video in the bin .
Can straws be pedantic? I'm in a new world of make believe
“…white men in senior roles, as set out in their charter.”
The charter doesn't mention race or ethnicity.
It is also supported by nearly every leading financial services company in the UK - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/649d8720bb13dc000cb2e367/HMT_Women_in_Finance_Charter_List_of_Signatories_June_2023_.pdf
The charter is actually about working towards senior management representing the breakdown of male/female workers in the industry. If you read it you’d understand that.
Guitarsolo you are clutching at pedantic straws to try to save your embarrassment.
Under her leadership Aviva are aiming to actively reduce the proportion of white men in senior roles, as set out in their charter. They do not expect it to happen by accident, so they are discriminating against white men to try to make it happen.
People looking for 50/50 gender splits are fools who don't understand human behaviour, and don't apply that logic to cr_appy jobs where men make up the majority of the workforce.
I understand (from Wiki) that “Ms” Blanc has two daughters. Maybe if she’d had a son who’d failed to get a job because he was the “wrong” gender then she’d have a keener sense of the injustice of it all.
Tinker
You see Rooba, you're again incorrectly summarising things. You say "quota", the document doesn't. A quota is a FIXED share that must be fulfilled. The Charter is a commitment towards certain target. That is not a quota.
There is no reason why in a business like insurance you shouldn't have a near 50/50 split.
You'd think outraged sellers of Aviva would be more concerned about oil companies producing hydrocarbons, defence companies making weapons, tobacco giants pushing cigs and vapes or water companies spewing sewage into the river network and sell their holdings or pension funds that include them.
I guess the dividends are just too good though.
Money talks in a strange world.
For someone who thinks they are better informed, you seem to be unaware of the non white male quotas in Aviva's own charter on their website - link below - please do check it out.
https://www.aviva.com/about-us/women-in-finance-charter/
I've read the exchange and understand the context - its discriminatory. If you can't see that, then I can't help you.
Poor language skills by Blanc - could be her Alison Rose moment. I wonder if Farage is insured through Aviva?