January 2022

The elephant in the room: Bringing sustainable investment to Africa

By Fiona Stewart The coronavirus pandemic has renewed interest in sustainable investing strategies that allow investors to both protect the financial value of their assets and contribute to solutions to global problems such as climate change. These investments have become increasingly mainstream, and now account for more than $39 trillion in the five major global markets, a 34 percent increase over two years, according to the latest trends reported by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. Read also Ghana. Lack of Pension...

Pensions dashboards should have interactive features, says ABI

Pensions dashboards should have interactive features to meet younger people’s digital needs, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The ABI commissioned research which found that seven in 10 working people would like dashboards to be interactive. The industry has been working on dashboards which will allow people to see all their pensions in one place for several years. Younger people were more likely than those of retirement age to want options which are not just “read-only”, including using modelling tools...

Puerto Rico afronta la mayor reestructuración de deuda municipal de la historia de EE.UU. tras aprobar la Justicia su plan

Puerto Rico afronta la mayor reestructuración de deuda municipal de la historia de EE.UU. tras aprobar la Justicia su plan

Años de acumulación de deuda, devastadores huracanes, conmoción política y una larga pandemia son algunos de los retos que ha enfrentado Puerto Rico mientras buscaba la aprobación de la Justicia estadounidense para reestructurar su deuda. La decisión de la juez federal Laura Taylor Swain de dar luz verde al plan de la isla para salir de la bancarrota, pone fin a un litigio de casi cinco años y facilitará su regreso a los mercados de capital. Puerto Rico acumuló niveles insostenibles...

David Sinclair explains what an ageing population means for economies around the world

The world has been ageing for some time, according to David Sinclair, Director, International Longevity Centre, but policy has still not caught up to tackle the potential problems this may cause for the world. He says that an ageing population will have an impact on the future like at no other time in history and will change everything from cities, transport and consumption to relations between countries, and for that to be positive rapid policy changes are needed. The below interview...

México. Por reformas, se pensionaron 27 mil trabajadores en 2021

México. Por reformas, se pensionaron 27 mil trabajadores en 2021

La reducción transitoria en 2021 de las semanas cotizadas a 750, año en que se empezó a jubilar la primera generación bajo el esquema de Afore, hicieron posible que 27 mil 396 personas se pensionaran, cifra superior a los 12 mil que estimaron las autoridades antes de que se aprobara la reforma al Sistema de Pensiones para el Retiro (SAR) en diciembre de 2020. De acuerdo con el balance de la Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro...

Pension funds and other institutional investors reduce allocations to fixed income, says survey

In a new Aeon Investments' survey of pension funds and other institutional investors in Europe and the US, who collectively have around USD436.5 billion in assets under management, nearly one in four (23 per cent) said they have reduced their allocation to traditional fixed income assets over the past 18 months by up to 10 per cent, and half (51 per cent) said they have cut it by between 10 per cent and 15 per cent. A further 14 per...

Japan’s Sustainable Bond Market Helps Fund Aging Population

Japan is using the corporate bond market to tackle the challenge of having the world’s oldest population. Daiwa Securities Living Investment Corp. became the latest issuer to tap the market for social debt on Tuesday with the sale of a 10-year bond to refinance investments in facilities for the elderly at a coupon of 0.46%. Although the amount raised was only 2 billion yen ($17.5 million), the bond follows offers last year from Daiwa House Reit Investment Corp., United Urban Investment...

Ghana. Lack of Pension plan for informal sector workers puts financial burden on youth and retirees

Workers in the informal sector face a lot of problems as they get older and retire. Many people have hung on to misconceptions and falsehoods about pensions throughout the years. But the failure to set up a pension plan frequently places a financial burden on the children of retirees. Many in the informal sector cringe at the mention of pension or end of service benefits. Seventy-four-year-old Obaapanin Yaa Ampomaah sells yam at Ayigya Market in Kumasi. She has been selling this food stuff...

UK. Lack of guidance for pension savers risks freedoms ‘failure’, MPs warn

A Work and Pensions Committee report calls on Government and regulators to play more active role in supporting savers to make better decisions about their money. The Government should commit to trial of automatic Pension Wise guidance appointments and set a target of at least 60% needed to boost uptake of pensions guidance and advice Automatic appointments with the Pension Wise service should be trialled as part of a renewed commitment from the Government to support people to make better decisions...

Chile. Comisión de Trabajo del Senado aprueba en general la Pensión Garantizada Universal

Chile. Comisión de Trabajo del Senado aprueba en general la Pensión Garantizada Universal

Luego de la aprobación en general de la iniciativa, este martes la misma comisión se reunirá para debatir el proyecto en particular. Une vez resuelto las indicaciones, pasará a la Comisión de Hacienda, donde se espera que se discuta la misma jornada. La tarde de este lunes, la Comisión de Trabajo del Senado aprobó en general el proyecto de Pensión Garantizada Universal, iniciativa gubernamental que propone un aporte directo de $185 mil mensual para quienes estén dentro del 80% más...