
Representative Trustee System - The Global Gold Standard Creating Discomfort at Home
April 2012
Once upon a time when the cultural cringe held away it took the likes of a Frank Sinatra to leap from a plane onto the tarmac of Kingsford Smith and declare his undying love and affection for Australia the greatest country on earth, to fill the gathered hearts with pride.
Click here to watch the interview


House of Fraser has many rooms
Published 3rd April 2012
Benjie Fraser, managing director and global pensions executive at -.-. ------ Worldwide Securities Services, was in Australia recently talking on a wide range of industry topics. In London he is known as the City Poet and has an impeccable literary pedigree.
Click here to read full article


CMSF 2012 daily news: day three
Published 21st March 2012
The not-for-profit superannuation movement should promote the strengths of its representative trustee system amid criticism that it lacks independence and professionalism, CMSF 2012 heard.
Click here to read full article


Benjie Fraser on the advent of super trusts
Published 17th March 2012
What's the difference between super-sizing and super trusts? Not much, says Benjie Fraser.
Click here to read full article


Making Their Debut
Published March 2012
Twenty-three young ladies from countries around
the globe, including France, Russia,
Japan and India, made their international debut at Le Bal
des Debutantes at the Hotel de Crillon
in Paris, France.
Click here to read full article


Valzer con star
Published 21 November 2011
A Parigi, le figlie dello showbiz debuttano in società sotto gli occhi di mamme e papà famosi. E Bruce Willis balla un lento.
Click here to read full article


A poetry reading to knock your socks off
Published 27 September 2011
Banker and poet Benjie Fraser gave a reading of his poems in aid of Friends of the Royal Marsden Hospital, where his late stepfather Harold Pinter was treated for cancer, at his house in Kensington last night, assisted by his son Tom who read some of his own. Publisher Tom Stacey, 81, who read one of his own poems, arrived on a scooter of the engineless variety as he thought he was late. "Luckily it was downhill but it'll be uphill on the way home," he said. Clothing tycoon Johnnie Boden was wearing no socks. "It's a sort of Euro fashion statement," he said. "I don't wear socks between May and October, or when I'm on holiday. "Benjie's mother Dame Antonia Fraser was selling a book of her late husband's poems in aid of the Marsden. "It's such a brilliant hospital," she said.


B.H. Fraser - Blade of Bread
Published Aug-Sept 2011
Click here to read full article


Dame Antonia give us a twirl
Published 12 June 2011
A glorious fancy dress party at the Polish Club in Kensington at the weekend where banker and poet Benjie Fraser, 50, threw a birthday party, themed on Arabian Nights, for himself and two of his teenage children.
Click here to read full article


Arabian Nights
Published 12 June 2011
Il Polish Club di Exhibition Road, a Londra, è all’altezza della sua fama: il luogo ideale per trascorrere una serata trasgressiva, tra alcol e danze.
Il compleanno del poeta della città Benjie Fraser...
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Among Friends
PN Review 199, Published May-June 2011
... The secondary distillation of work by less well-known contemporary poets, from already slender pamphlets, makes them competitively potent. B.H.Fraser's 'Business Centre', a fagged-out hymn to the conference-world of the mid-1980s, is a shining example. ...
Click here to read full article


Special Report - Pensions
Published 09 April 2011
Apart from those mentioned
in this special report, thanks
are due to Martin Bird, David
Blake, Craig Burnett, David
Calfo, Andrew Clare, Jerome
Clark, Nick Davies, Chris
DeMarco, Emmanuel Dubois-
Pellerin, Cynthia Egan,
Benjie Fraser....
Click here to read full article


Poetry and the arts in the Fraser genes
Published 04 April 2011
Former arts minister Grey Gowrie has high praise for Benjie Fraser, son of Lady Antonia, and his collection of poems, Default Virgins."Manic depression is a familiar condition of many good poems and good poets," writes Lord Gowrie in his foreword. "B H Fraser's poems cast a healthier, colder eye. But their impressive, jerky rhythms and ability to move in and out of formal English do serve to capture the greed/fear, elation/despair equations of the City ..." B H Fraser's method suits his subject, indeed derives from it. There are terrific changes of pace and mood in the verse. Most of us at present are suffering from violent fiscal change of one sort or another as we enter our century's puberty. We are default virgins, a Fraser phrase worthy of the OED." Late hatter Isabella Blow is immortalised by Fraser in one of his works: "Dream me./I am neither asleep nor awake./I am in parenthesis./Watching/With love and remembrance,/I am your heated vision." Fraser, now 50, is a top merchant banker and father of five. How does he find the time?

Whiskeria: Poetry and whisky - a good pairing?
(Winter 2010 edition)
Benjie Fraser's day job is a senior fund manager in London's financial centre with a major bank, but he is also the self-styled 'City Poet'. His work is appreciated by a broad cross-section of the City, especially the hedge fund industry. He also has a weekly Twitter at City_poems. So, what happens when we cross the muse with a fine single malt? Benjie tasted one of our finest - Glenkeir Treasures Macallan 18yo. Dominic's tasting notes are thus:
The Glenkeir Treasures Macallan 18-year-old is arguably the perfect Speysider, with enough sherry and vanilla playing off soft orange fruits, and all held together by
some oaky notes and the faintest hint of spice.
Benjie's response, it has to be said was lengthy, but this is an extract:
Where no parting cup is sadder
or welcome more kinder and madder:
what dances around your glass
is a fragmen t of eternity
that starts our long night's journey.
B. H. Fraser

Professional Pensions: Social media key to increasing member awareness - NAPF Conference 2010
(Published 7 October 2010)
Social media sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn could prove a powerful tool in increasing member engagement.
Benjie Fraser told conference delegates that issues such as the advent of NEST and the shift from RPI to CPI could provide a catalyst as members go online to air their views on pension issues.
Fraser used the example of a blog set up by a major bank for use by schemes. Users were able to engage in topical discussions and take part in interactive votes. Participation can be anonymous if wished. Fraser said average time spent on the site has grown from five to 11 minutes.
Fraser drew comparisons with areas like politics where social networking is used heavily and urged the pension industry to get more involved.
"The pensions industry is ideal for this and I think the Pandora's box is slowly opening," he said. "NEST could really stimulate peoples' awareness of their pension provision and we need to embrace social networking as a means of engaging more actively with people."
This view was echoed in an earlier session where social media was highlighted as a way of engaging with members on a more "individual" basis. Gray UK's Adam Gray urged employers to engage with members on these sites as a means of understanding their needs more thoroughly.
"Social media helps us to stand out from the crowd as letters don't engage with people on an individual basis," said Gray UK's Adam Gray.
"We need to talk to these people, not at them if we are going to understand their needs. People are going to discuss these issues and these conversations are happening whether employers are involved or not. Social media enables people to ask the questions they need to."

The Daily Telegraph: Chief's train of thought - a mystery
(Published 6th October 2010)
Benjie Fraser, the bard of the Barbican, will be exercising his iambic pentameters today. The son of Lady Antonia Fraser and head of pensions at a major bank is doing a poetry reading at the Barbican. Now, this is the man who has written poems including Bank Robbers, A Giant, Vampire Squid and Lines Written on the Financial Meltdown, so it could be entertaining. Tomorrow he’s speaking at the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference. Hope he doesn’t get the two sets of notes mixed up.

The Daily Beast: Wimbledon's Poet Laureate
(Published 2 July 2010)
Click
here to read the article

Evening Standard: New direction for the banker bard
(Published 14 June 2010)
Click
here to read the article

Sanctuary
in the City
Click
here to read the article

A poetic interlude
(Blog by Caroline Boyle, published November 08)
Click
here to read the blog

Boisdale Telegraph: The modern way to
murder a Haggis
(Published January/February 08)
Click
here to see full article

Daily Mail
(Published 18th January 08)
Banker/poet Benjie Fraser, 46, the son of historian Lady Antonia
Fraser, has written Fancy A Haggis? - a contemporary address to
a haggis, in time for Burns Night. This saucy work, sponsored
by Macallan Single Malt, begins: 'You flash thing/You master/Of
the cooking bling/God, you'd be good in bed/Arms, legs, skin/Even
the words unsaid/good luck then' ...and ends 'You can't
hurry love/And you can't hurry a haggis/So now do you fancy me?/And
can a night/Be spent together/Of all eternity?/Now eat and say
your prayers'. Benjie's poem was launched during a whisky-drenched
dinner at Boisdale, the Scottish restaurant in Belgravia.

Financial Times: The City is not short of creativity
(Published 24th August 07)
Sir, Howard Davies is correct in wondering where the authors
of high finance are; there is certainly plenty to write about.
My favourite is David Charters, author of At Bonus Time, No-one
Can Hear You Scream and No Tears: Tales from the Square Mile,
who has a style worthy of literary inspection. He also merits
a wider audience and his books are rarely found in mainstream
book shops. The City even has its own poet, B.H. Fraser (www.bhfraser.com)
so we are not short of creativity.
From my own experience, aspiring writers are instructed by literary
agents and publishers that City/finance-based fiction has narrow
appeal and are told to focus on other areas that are more marketable.
By Sarah Dudney

Evening Standard: It's Harold on the phone
(12 May 06)
A JOINT performance by Harold Pinter and Lady Antonia Fraser
was the highlight of last night's poetry reading, organised by
her son, banker and poet Benjie Fraser, at the Inner Temple.
The couple read from a dialogue written by Pinter, entitled
Apart From That, in which two characters have an inane conversation
on their mobile phones, never getting much further than "How
are you?". Very Pinteresque.
"Harold hates mobiles and conversations on them like the
one in the piece
-
it's typical of him then to turn around and manage to write about
them," said
Lady Antonia, for whom the performance was her stage debut.
The audience included Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, AS Byatt
and Jonathan Aitken.
"I was very interested to hear Benjie's poem about setting
the rates," said
Aitken, a former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, "because
I was one of the last people to help to do that."
The reading raised money for a charity founded in memory of
Paddy Pakenham, Lord Longford's barrister son, who died in 2005.

International Custody and Fund Administration
Online: Fraser Joins a major bank
(2 February 06)
Worldwide Securities Services (WSS) has appointed
Benjie Fraser as senior vice president and head of business
development for European pension funds, a new position. Fraser
previously worked for the ---- -- --- ----, where he was head
of European pensions. "We are very pleased to be joined
by someone with Benjie's broad experience, particularly at
this important time for the pensions industry," said Dick
Feehan, WSS Securities Company sales executive in Europe, Middle
East and Africa. In addition, Fraser noted, "Our
focus on servicing clients is a key part of this commitment
to the pensions industry".

Global Custodian Review Online: a major bank hires
Benjie Fraser as Senior VP for European Pension Funds
(28 February 06)
Worldwide Securities Services (WSS) appointed Benjie Fraser
as Senior Vice President and head of business development for European
pension funds, a new position, as part of WSS's focus on pension
funds and the administration of pension funds. Fraser previously worked for ---- -- --- ----, where he was head
of European pensions. He has over 16 years of experience in the
pensions industry and has spent more than 20 years in financial
services.
Fraser said: "I am very excited about coming to
work for a firm so comprehensively committed to pension funds.
Our
focus on servicing clients is a key part of this commitment to
the pensions industry." 
Global Custodian Online: a major bank names Benjie Fraser
to Head Business Development for European Pension Funds
(27 February 06)
Leaving his post as head of European pensions
for ---- -- --- ----, Benjie Fraser will now fill a similar position
at a major bank Worldwide Securities Services as senior vice president and head
of business development for European pension funds. Fraser has
over 16 years of experience in the pensions industry and has spent
more than 20 years in financial services. "We are very pleased
to be joined by someone with Benjie's broad experience, particularly
at this important time for the pensions industry," said Dick
Feehan, JPMWSS sales executive in EMEA.

IPE.com: ---- -- --- ----'s Fraser joins a major bank
(2 February 06)
Click
here to see full article

International Custody and Fund Administration
Online: Fraser Joins a major bank
(2 February 06)
Worldwide Securities Services (WSS) has appointed Benjie
Fraser as senior vice president and head of business development
for European pension funds, a new position. Fraser previously
worked for the ---- -- --- ----, where he was head of European
pensions. "We are very pleased to be joined by someone with
Benjie's broad experience, particularly at this important time
for the pensions industry," said Dick Feehan, WSS Securities
Company sales executive in Europe, Middle East and Africa. In
addition, Fraser noted, "Our focus on servicing clients
is a key part of this commitment to the pensions industry.

Evening Standard: Londoner's Diary / Pinter still going strong
(26 Sept 05)
Click
here to see full article

Evening Standard: Londoner's Diary / Pinter sees stepson
for a dose of city verse
(23 July 04)
Click
here to see full article
 Banker turns to verse to lay bare Mammon's soul
(July
04)
By Paul Majendie
LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Mammon may rule in the gleaming towers
of London's financial district but, amid all the high finance, there
beats a tender, poetic heart.
By day, Benjie Fraser is managing director in London of the Bank
of New York's pensions business. By night he is B.H. Fraser, chronicler
of capitalism.
From "A Good Sacking" to "Bonus Time," the British
banker-poet has turned to verse to capture the soul of The City.
No subject is too esoteric -- from hedge funds to the Bank of England's
supervisory role -- and Fraser said: "the City is a positive
place to work but I do want to highlight things like greed and temptation."
"We are in the end people and The City is a mixture of fear
and greed," he told Reuters on the eve of the first public
reading in the Guildhall Old Library of his "City Poems"
collection.
Inspiration often strikes when the 43-year-old banker is sitting
on an aeroplane, jetting between business deals.
"I've time when travelling to make sense of my notes. I have
a whole stack of poems, like cheese, which have just started, may
never get tasted or are ready."
The pickpocket maestro Fagin may have told Oliver Twist: "In
this life, one thing counts/In the bank, large amounts," but
Fraser disagrees.
"Life is about more than that," he says.
Not for him the image of ruthless wheeler-dealer Gordon Gekko in
the Oscar-winning movie "Wall Street" intoning his mantra
"Greed is Good."
"I make sure in my poems that we recognise the importance of
the individual in the workplace. It is important that people are
valued in The City," said Fraser, who puts his poems up for
all to see on his www.bhfraser.com website.

BBC- Radio 4:
Today Programme Arts Reports -Poetry in the
City
(July 04)
Poet - Benjie Fraser
Only a few world famous poets earnt their crust by working in an
office. However the managing director of an international bank says
literary inspiration can be found in the workplace.
A would-be-poet claims his nine-to-five job as
a City banker is the main motivation for his colourful poetry. He
maintains stocks and shares can be as inspirational as unrequited
love or death-ridden angst. Managing director of NY Bank in London,
Benjie Fraser, will be reading his poetry on Thursday 23 July at
the Guildhall in London. To see an extract of Mr Fraser’s
poetry, please see the bottom of the page.
Click
here to see the article
 Inspiration of Verse
Poetry is far from being a dying art. Although
public speaking is less popular nowadays, it is still a weekly ritual
at the famous Speakers Corner in Hyde Park. In addition, various
poetry and creative writing groups meet regularly to discuss all
kinds of poetry, with an increasing number of people attending the
gatherings.
Poetry has greatly evolved since Anglo-Saxon times,
when it was first written in the English language. It continues
to inspire in both ancient and contemporary forms.
A Poem isoften defined by the era in which it is
composed. Works of a particular period can share distinct characteristics
and themes. Anglo-Saxon poetry, for example, included recurring
themes such as vikings, dragons and visions.
Poetry is a flexible medium - a poem can be as
long or as short as the poet desires, and there are many different
styles of writing, from sonnets and verse, to limericks and rhythm.
A poet’s inspiration shapes the character
of the poem, and this can often derive from his or her surroundings.
Benjie Fraser says his work is influenced by an unusual combination
of TS Eliot, and his daily commute into work on the underground,
as well as his business trips around Europe.
Although TS Eliot did not write many poems about
the city, Mr Fraser says that he is inspired by Eliot’s prose.
‘The language is living, interesting, to me, perhaps sometimes
in its ordinariness’ he says.
If you are a budding poet the please get in contact with us and
let us know about yourself and what inspires you.
 An extract from 'Bonus Time' By Benjie Fraser
Bonus time follows spring
Cheapside 's peace threatened by sheep
Masses of small specks flooding a green field
Beneath the Barbican.
A man walks down Cornhill muttering
About borrowings, buys the evening paper, decides
To hurl a brick through the window of the
Jampot where he used to drink with ghostly
Organists like Mendelssohn.

The Times: Bonus is poetic justice
(June 04)
The City's unofficial poet in residence holds the first reading
of his new work next month, on July 22 at Guildhall Art Gallery.
B.H. "Benjie" Fraser will read from his City Poems collection,
which are all about working in the City.
Try Bonus Time: "Bonus time follows spring/Cheapside's peace
threatened by sheep/Masses of small specks flooding a green field/Beneath
the Barbican can..."
Fraser writes his poems during business trips around Europe.
Also at the event, and reading selections from his work, the playwright
Harold Pinter, who is, by coincidence, Benjie's stepfather. I think
we can assume his choices will not include God Bless America: "Here
they go again,/The Yanks in their ballads of joy/As they gallop
across the big world/Praising America's God."
It would be, at best, tactless. Fraser, in his day job, is the
London managing director of the ---- -- --- ----.
Click
here to see the article

The Spectator: The Spectator's Notes
(June 03)
By coincidence, after years as more or less the only member of the
Fraser Gang (Lady Tony's mob, that is, not Mad Frankie's) not to
have published his literary efforts, young Benjamin Fraser has at
last cracked and tumbled into print. His debut collection of poetry,
City Poems (Greville Press), is dedicated 'To Harold',
though there's scant sign of printer's influence in the poems. Much
less swearing, and one even begins, 'Pray Americans come./Booted.
On. Now.', which if memory serves, is not quite Harold's line. Anyway,
jolly good they are too.

Daily Mail: Ephraim
Hardcastle
(June 03)
Lady Antonia Fraser's son, Benjie, 41, has written a volume of verse,
City Poems. What does his stepfather, playwright/poet Harold
Pinter, think of them? Lady Antonia tells me: 'Harold told Benjie,
"This is an original voice". ' A little non-committal?

The Daily Telegraph: A
Poet for the Pakenhams
(June 03)
There is a new addition to the Pakenhams writing clan. Lady Antonia
Fraser's eldest son, Benjie, a banker by trade, has just released
his first collection of poems. Fraser, who writes during business
trips around Europe, published
City Poems after winning a competition in his native Hampshire.
"I've always written poetry, but never got round to showing
it to anybody until I won this contest," he tells Spy. "Who
knows where it will end up?"
Fraser's stepfather, Harold Pinter, has pronounced him a "truly
original" poet. His mother, meanwhile, comments: "I think
they're very good indeed. But then I would say that, wouldn't I?"
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