Mark Thompson, chief investment officer of HSBC’s £21bn pension funds, said it was a “Road to Damascus” moment for him when he realised that most pension savers were not going to become investment experts overnight – and probably never would.

Such an epiphany would be important to anyone running a defined-contribution pension plan, which offers scheme members the chance to pick and choose their own investment funds. But for HSBC, which is about to close its old final-salary scheme, and make its DC plan the primary savings vehicle for all UK staff, it has particular relevance at the moment.