May 2020
06May

What are the implications for pension funds coming out of coronavirus crisis?

By Janet Rabovsky Last August, I wrote about whether central banks were creating a financial bubble with their coordinated easing programs intended to spur economic growth and/or lift inflation. In January 2020, I wrote about the end of the economic cycle, the potential for a recession and what that might mean for positioning an investment portfolio. Little did I know, when I wrote these articles, that we would be experiencing further central bank action as a result of COVID-19,...

May 6, 2020
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05May

Perú. Para reformar el sistema de pensiones

Por Francisco Sagasti El Perú no tiene un sistema de pensiones. La gran mayoría de adultos mayores no cuenta con el apoyo necesario para una vejez digna. El componente público, la ONP, es excesivamente rígido y abarca solo al 10 % de los peruanos en edad de trabajar. El componente privado, las AFP, aprovecha indebidamente su condición oligopólica y no alcanza al 20 % de los trabajadores, y las pensiones de militares y policías cubren menos del 1 %. Un...

May 5, 2020
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04May

Top US pension plans eye private credit.

Some of America’s largest pension funds are looking to pour money into private credit to capitalise on dislocations across the market stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Both the $227bn California State Teachers Retirement System (Calstrs) and the $215bn New York State Common Retirement Fund have identified private credit as an opportunity for investors that have enough liquidity to lend to struggling companies. Meanwhile, data from FT Specialist publication MandateWire shows that numerous other public funds in the US are...

May 4, 2020
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04May

Jamaica. The COVID-19 response: Beyond the crisis

The Government’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force very much duplicates the existing National Partnership Council that had been established to drive Jamaica’s economic development long before the advent of the global pandemic. The recovery process will be long and arduous, but the first order of business for Jamaica is to keep the wheels of industry turning, which is the initial focus, I believe, of the task force. Beyond that, the groundwork for a full and sustained recovery has to...

May 4, 2020
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04May

Australia. How financial planning around super will likely change

Financial planning around superannuation may be forced to change as a result of the impact of COVID-19 and the efforts of superannuation funds to increase their cash holdings, according to actuarial research house, Rice Warner. It said superannuation funds are likely to keep high levels of cash well into the future for fear of a repeat of the Government’s COVID-19 hardship early release regime. In an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on superannuation funds, Rice Warner has pointed...

May 4, 2020
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01May

Desempleo en Chile sube a 8,2% en primer trimestre, el mayor aumento en una década

El desempleo en Chile volvió a subir en el primer trimestre de este año y se ubicó en 8,2% de la fuerza laboral, su mayor salto en un década, informó este jueves el Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE). La cifra representa un incremento de 1,0% respecto a igual período del año anterior y es la tasa más alta de desempleo en Chile desde el trimestre junio-agosto de 2010 (8,4%). El guarismo considera sólo en el mes de marzo los...

May 1, 2020
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01May

Chile. Ministro Palacios en picada contra proyecto que elimina las AFP: “Es una expropiación, sería bueno que lo dijeran con todas sus letras”

El ministro de Economía, Lucas Palacios, criticó el proyecto de ley presentado por senadores de la oposición el cual busca nacionalizar los fondos de pensiones y elimina las AFP del sistema de pensiones. En conversación con T13 Radio, el secretario de Estado calificó la iniciativa de los senadores Ximena Órdenes (PPD), Yasna Provoste (DC), Alejandro Navarro (País Progresista), Alfonso de Urresti (PS) y Juan Ignacio Latorre (RD), como una "muy mala idea", agregando que ese no es el camino...

May 1, 2020
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April 2020
30Apr

OECD pension chief says reforms must continue, urges crisis policy caution

Global pension reform initiatives that got underway prior to the coronavirus outbreak must continue – but implementation needs careful reconsideration. That, along with concerns over the potential long-term impact of pension freedom and contribution relief measures, was among the key points raised during a webinar hosted by industry organisation the International Federations of Pension Funds Administrators (FIAP). Chile – which has a defined-contribution, or private scheme, and a solidarity pillar – is among those that have embarked along the...

April 30, 2020
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30Apr

South Africa: The Rules Around Pensions in a Time of Mass Job Losses

In addition to the stress faced by employees who might lose their jobs during the crisis engendered by Covid-19, there is the added concern of whether their pension contributions will remain safe or fairly managed. The Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) warned, at the end of March, that many distressed employers might default on their employees’ contributions to retirement funds, as a direct consequence of Covid-19’s impact on businesses and the economy. While the FSCA reminded the public that...

April 30, 2020
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30Apr

Japan’s GPIF Seeking Active and Passive Managers for Foreign Bonds

The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) in Japan is aggressively seeking active and passive managers of foreign bonds to diversify its portfolio beyond low-paying Japanese bonds. The world’s largest pension fund is seeking broad asset managers with access to various benchmarks, such as corporate high yield indexes, emerging market indices, and aggregate indexes, the GPIF said. On Monday, the pension fund also said it is considering appointing a new fund of fund (FoF) manager for infrastructure assets in emerging...

April 30, 2020
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