October 2020

23Oct

How Well-Prepared Are Pension Funds for Climate Risk?

A major report recently released by United States federal regulators warns that climate change is starting to disrupt U.S. financial markets, as the costs of wildfires, floods and droughts penetrate insurance and mortgage markets. The report by the bipartisan Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC) lays out how escalating climate risks could threaten pension payouts over the coming decades. Divya Mankikar is an investment manager at CalPERS, the public pension for California’s public employees and the world’s largest pension...

October 23, 2020
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21Oct

Pandemic puts pressure on global pensions

The combination of low interest rates, a pandemic-ravaged global economy and reduced investment returns are straining pension systems, according to an annual survey. Covid-19 has also exacerbated gender inequality in pensions, the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index says. Women already retired with less money than men, and the pandemic’s effect on the hospitality and food services sectors, where women are overrepresented, will add to the gap. Canada’s pension systems held at ninth overall in the 2020 study with...

October 21, 2020
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21Oct

South Korea. NPS partners with Dutch pension fund for global investments

South Korea’s biggest institutional investor, the National Pension Service, has forged a partnership with Dutch retirement fund operator APG Asset Management to invest in European and Asian markets, according to the Korean fund operator. APG, which managed assets worth 538 billion euros ($637.4 billion) as of the end of 2019, invests in the private education, construction and energy sectors on behalf of Dutch state-run fund ABP. Before forging the partnership, APG and the NPS jointly invested in a...

October 21, 2020
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21Oct

UAE. Abu Dhabi Pension Fund and ADQ to Invest $2.1 Billion in Gas Pipelines

The Abu Dhabi Pension Fund (ADPF) and holding company ADQ have made a $2.1 billion investment in the state’s gas pipeline assets. The state pension fund and holding company will take a one-fifth stake in the gas pipeline assets owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which oversees 38 pipelines spanning 610 miles, the state-owned oil company ADNOC said last week. “The addition of these high-caliber UAE investors sets a new benchmark for leading global and...

October 21, 2020
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21Oct

Canada. Quebec Pension Launches Fund to Boost Diversity in Smaller Firms

Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec is launching a C$250 million ($190 million) fund to invest in small and medium-sized businesses in Canada that have diverse executives and owners. To be eligible, companies must promise that at least 25% of their boards, management teams and shareholders will be comprised of people of diverse backgrounds -- including women, visible minorities and indigenous people -- in the five years following the investment, Caisse said in a statement. “It has been...

October 21, 2020
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20Oct

Govt seeks to overturn Pension Schemes Bill amendment defeats

The government is seeking to overturn the four Pension Schemes Bill amendment votes it lost in the House of Lords in the summer by removing them from the bill. In a House of Commons Notices of Amendments publication, Pensions Minster, Guy Opperman, outlined the removal of the House of Lords’ amendments. The amendments relate to commercial pensions dashboards, transaction facilities on dashboards, reporting on fairness to members of collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes, and open defined benefit (DB) schemes...

October 20, 2020
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20Oct

These Are the World’s Best (and Worst) Pension Systems in 2020

The Netherlands and Denmark have cemented their positions as having the best pension systems in the world, even as other countries falter during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an annual global survey. Read also Pandemic puts pressure on global pensions The countries again took the top two slots in the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index published Tuesday, drawing praise for holding their nerve and not allowing citizens to drain their accounts during the crisis. Read also Asia managers set...

October 20, 2020
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20Oct

Asia managers set strategies for expected U.S. election chaos

Money managers in Asia are deploying a range of traditional and unconventional strategies to cushion any losses as they brace for turbulence in the lead-up and aftermath of the U.S. presidential election. Chinese equities feature high in some recommendations on expectations the vote will have a limited impact on Asian assets, while derivatives that protect against a market slide are also listed among the strategies. Several investors suggest more conventional hedges such as the yen and gold as well...

October 20, 2020
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20Oct

Chile’s pension funds join global gold ETP rush

Chilean pension funds have been given the go-ahead by the country’s financial regulator to invest in gold exchange traded products for the first time. The relaxation is part of a brace of reforms in Latin America, alongside Brazil’s decision to allow cross listings of overseas exchange traded funds in the form of depositary receipts, that could help breathe new life into the region’s stuttering ETF industry. Felipe Cousiño, a partner at Alessandri, a Chilean law firm, said the move...

October 20, 2020
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20Oct

Pensions In Spain Will Be Revalued By 0.9% In 2021

The Government is forecasting a 0.9% revaluation in public pensions in 2021, following the increase already applied this year. This would allow for ensuring pensioners’ purchasing power, as it is included in the 2021 Budget Plan which the Executive sent last Thursday to Brussels. The increase corresponds to the government’s forecast for the GDP deflator, the index closest to the CPI, for next year, which predicts a rise of 0.9%. However, the government must now negotiate this rise with...

October 20, 2020
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