Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's exceptionally long Autumn Statement speech yesterday (November 22) deliberately omitted mentioning many of the 110 reforms in his British "business-boosting" promises, for time's sake.
Thankfully, FT Adviser is on hand, having pored over the 120-page Autumn Statement and the raft of accompanying documents, to reveal those nuggets of information that may have been missed amid the big headlines on pensions and national insurance.
Here are 11 (because the chancellor lives at 11 Downing Street) hidden rabbits from Hunt's hat.
1) Value for Money Framework
According to the document, the Financial Conduct Authority will consult next spring on the next steps of the new value for money framework.
The statement said: "As part of this, large schemes will be required to compare themselves against others in the market, including large-scale schemes, to ensure they are delivering value for their members."
This is part of the government's plan to progress the consolidation of pension schemes into large, defined contribution behemoths to drive down costs for savers and diversify into growth equity.
The rationale being, the bigger the scheme, the easier it can invest into less liquid projects.
The government plans for most savers in workplace DC schemes to belong to schemes of £30bn or more by 2030.
2) British Business Bank
The government is to set up a growth fund within the British Business Bank.
The aim is to "draw upon the BBB's expertise and a permanent capital base of more than £7bn, to give pension funds access to investment opportunities in the UK's most promising businesses".
Alongside this, the government is setting up a Venture Capital Fellowship to take the one ring to Mordor, I mean, sorry, to "produce the next generation of world-leading investors in the UK's renowned VC funds, to support investment into the UK's most high-growth companies".
3) Solvency II
Hidden among the documentation was a challenge for the insurance giants operating in the UK. As discussed in previous years, the question of whether Solvency II reforms will allow insurers to allocate their expansive investment portfolios into less liquid investments.
The Autumn Statement said: "The government is legislating to give effect to the Solvency II reforms, to deliver a more tailored, clear and simple regulatory regime for the insurance sector.
"The reforms will boost economic growth, by incentivising private investment for productive assets, such as infrastructure."
Already, insurers have pledged more than £100bn of investment in a greater range of productive assets over the next decade, as a result of the reforms.
As reported by a very wise journalist in the CII Journal back in 2021: "Premiums might have to rise slightly to offset the higher levels of capital that must be held as insurers allocate more to less liquid assets such as infrastructure. Dividend growth from insurers might not be as exciting as it had been pre-Covid.
