February 2021
04Feb

UK. Pension scheme trustees challenged over climate change reporting

The new regulations will require occupational pension schemes to have – and report on – effective governance, strategy, risk management and accompanying metrics and targets for the assessment and management of climate-related risks and opportunities. A key requirement is that pension schemes report disclosure aligned with the taskforce on climate-related financial disclosures (TCFD) framework. Since an earlier consultation in this area, the government has announced its intention to make TCFD-aligned disclosures mandatory across the economy by 2025, with a...

February 4, 2021
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04Feb

Gulf’s pension funds can learn something from Norway

The initial set of 2020 financial results from listed companies offers an opportunity to evaluate not just their performance but the strength – or otherwise - of their operational strategies. This is due to multiple considerations, most notably the exceptional situation created by the pandemic and the challenges – and opportunities - imposed on individual economies and the global economy as a whole. What we see are some entities taking advantage of the crisis to turn in substantial profits,...

February 4, 2021
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04Feb

Ontario teachers pension fund gains $500 million by cashing in on GameStop stock rebellion

Wall Street's hedge funds are set to lose tens of billions of dollars after a mob of traders on Reddit's WallStreetBets page sent GameStop, AMC Entertainment, and other stocks skyrocketing in recent days. However, some Canadian entities are cashing in on what is being touted as the "biggest short squeeze in 25 years." Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan—the largest shareholder in U.S. mall owner Macerich Co.—reportedly sold its entire holding for nearly $500 million when the stock soared. According to...

February 4, 2021
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03Feb

US. GameStop frenzy has hedge fund managers rethinking next moves

Retail investors' frenzied attack on short sellers during the week of Jan. 25, which saw U.S. equity trading by volume hit a record high, is forcing some hedge funds to rethink their strategies and approaches to investing. Sources fear that generating alpha from short positions — and the wider hedge fund industry — may be damaged by the episode. Hedge funds may have to invest more in large-cap stocks rather than small cap, keep their positions better hidden from...

February 3, 2021
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03Feb

Global Equity Release Market Set To Triple By 2031

International research published by EY predicts that the global equity release market could more than triple over the next decade. The Global Equity Release Roundtable 2020 survey report analyses information from market leaders across 13 different countries (including Heartland Reverse Mortgages in Australia and New Zealand). According to the data, the growth potential of this market is huge. Over $15bn of equity is currently released per year globally, and by 2031 this is expected to surpass $50bn annually. That’s...

February 3, 2021
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03Feb

U.K.’s Sunak to Protect Pensioners With Triple Lock Pledge

U.K. finance minister Rishi Sunak is planning to keep the government’s promise to increase the state pensions of millions of elderly people by at least 2.5% every year, saving a flagship policy despite the costs. According to a person familiar with the matter, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will retain the “triple lock” guarantee to raise the state pension by the highest of three measures: annual growth in average earnings, inflation, or 2.5%. Around 12.5 million people receive the...

February 3, 2021
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02Feb

U.K. firms sponsoring DB plans comprise big chunk of profit warnings

Almost two-thirds of listed companies sponsoring defined benefit funds issued a total 249 profit warnings last year, accounting for 43% of all U.K. profit warnings made in 2020. The latest EY quarterly analysis of profit warnings found that 10% of those firms with a DB fund issued their third consecutive profit warning in 2020 — often a precursor to insolvency. EY analysis shows that, typically, 1 in 5 firms issuing three warnings within 12 months will become insolvent within...

February 2, 2021
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02Feb

Puerto Rico Government Plan-to-Private Plan Rollovers Allowed

On January 20, 2021, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (Departamento de Hacienda, commonly known as “Hacienda”) issued Administrative Determination No. 21-01 (AD 21-01), which provides that lump-sum distributions from the retirement plan for Puerto Rico government employees are eligible for direct and indirect rollovers into Puerto Rico–qualified retirement plans maintained by private-sector employers. In practice, however, this determination is unlikely to have much of an impact on the operation of private-sector employer plans. Background Since the 1940s,...

February 2, 2021
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02Feb

Ireland. ISME looking for donations to argue for fairer pensions

Isme is calling on private sector workers across the country to donate money to support a campaign to create an equitable system for private sector pension savers. The Irish SME Association (Isme) is looking to raise €500,000 to support three plaintiffs who will challenge tax discrimination against private sector workers before the High Court, arguing that the pension system favours public sector workers. The funds raised will support the formation of a technical team giving tax guidance, pensions expertise,...

February 2, 2021
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January 2021

29Jan

Coronavirus throwing retirement systems into a deepening hole

By Douglas Appell, Paulina Pielichata Emerging markets policymakers' uphill battle to ensure a comfortable retirement for their fast-aging populations became considerably more daunting last year as the coronavirus ripped through the global economy. Read also Australia’s pension assets fall for first time since 2009- regulator Creative approaches to asset allocation and structural changes to keep retirement systems from morphing into rainy day funds are topics policymakers could find themselves grappling with as they look to move forward again after a year...

January 29, 2021
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