November 2019

08Nov

South Africa. Retirement Rogues and the Casualties of Circumstance

There is a mountain of money, R42bn to be exact, sitting in unclaimed benefit schemes out there, just sitting there, getting fatter, which means money for jam for the fund managers, but doesn't afford any jam to the estimated four million people who own this stash of cash. Read also Ghana. Health sector pensioners assured of lump sum payments come January 2020 There are multiple reasons for there being an estimated total of R42-billion in benefits owed to more than...

November 8, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
06Nov

Rising tensions pose Asia dilemma for US pensions

US state pension schemes certainly don’t lack for problems. Many have nowhere near enough funds to cover growing payout liabilities (see first box below). And they struggle to shift their members from defined benefit to defined contribution schemes which would sap their assets less quickly. Read also China Life Pension Assets Doubled One solution would be to improve investment performance. Unfortunately, asset returns have been falling and market volatility rising, in part because of the geopolitical uncertainty and US-China trade...

November 6, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
06Nov

Green Coalition: Pension Plans Miss Billions by Not Divesting from Fossil Fuels

A new study shows that the two largest pension funds in the US—the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)—as well as the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, combined missed out on $19 billion in investment returns over the last decade by investing in fossil fuel stocks. The study is the latest salvo by environmentalists in their battle to convince the large pension funds to divest their portfolios of the stocks of...

November 6, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
06Nov

US. Public Pension Plans Continue to Shift Into U.S. Stocks

As the bull market enters its 11th year, state and local pension plans are piling on risk, as they try to make up shortfalls. Public plans had a median 47.3% of their assets in U.S. equities at the end of the third quarter, according to database Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service. That is more than they have had since 2007 and up from 44.1% a year earlier. Taking on more exposure to stocks is a riskier bet, especially as...

November 6, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
01Nov

Thailand’s $30 Billion Pension Fund Curbs Risk in New Allocation

Thailand’s $30 billion Government Pension Fund is lowering exposure to riskier assets in a revised asset allocation for the medium to long term. The plan involves bolstering exposure to defensive Thai stocks, including those offering higher dividends, as a cushion against any downturn or market volatility, the fund’s Head of Investment Strategy Arsa Indaravijaya said in an interview. “The new allocation points to a de-risking mode,” he said in Bangkok. “Risky assets have been shaved off, reflecting a late cycle that we’re moving...

November 1, 2019
News, Slider
Read more...

October 2019

29Oct

US senator plans Bill to block Federal Pensions investing in China

Senator Marco Rubio plans legislation to block U.S. government pensions from investing in Chinese stocks after the board overseeing the funds put off a decision that would add exposure to China. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board on Monday addressed concerns that switching the benchmark for its $50 billion TSP I Fund to mirror an index with Chinese assets would undermine U.S. economic and national security. A decision was delayed for at least two weeks, according to Kim Weaver,...

October 29, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
29Oct

Canada. Morneau Shepell releases the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers’ Pooled Funds

Morneau Shepell (TSX: MSI) has released the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers' Pooled Funds for the third quarter of 2019. According to the report, in the third quarter of 2019, diversified pooled fund managers posted a median return of 1.5 per cent before management fees. Since the beginning of the year, the return has been 12.8 per cent. "In general, markets posted positive returns in the third quarter, despite higher volatility. The FTSE Canada Universe Bond...

October 29, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
25Oct

Don’t Save for Retirement: A Millennial’s Guide to Financial Freedom

By Daniel Ameduri Baby boomers are always giving millennials advice on the importance of saving for retirement. But Daniel Ameduri says that the results are in for the retirement experiment of the last 75 years and they’re really bad. When he was twenty-seven years old, Daniel was on the brink of bankruptcy. A decade later, he’s a multi-millionaire, having taught himself about economics, investing, and other money matters that he never learned at school or at home. The expert...

October 25, 2019
Books, Pension design, Savings, , ,
Read more...
25Oct

UK. Watchdog hails success of auto-enrolment pensions

Regulators and financial experts are hailing a rare public policy success after figures on Britain’s “auto-enrolment” scheme revealed 10 million more people are now saving, with record amounts going into pensions. British workers saved £90.4bn into their pension schemes in 2018, according to the Pensions Regulator – £7bn more than the year before. Behind the surge in saving is auto-enrolment, the scheme set up by the government in 2012 to make sure everyone, whether they work for a supermarket...

October 25, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
24Oct

Denmark’s Biggest Pension Fund Just Unveiled a Record 40% Return

Denmark’s biggest pension fund, ATP, more than doubled its rate of return in the first nine months of this year as most of the asset classes it invested in grew in value. Read also European private pension industry hit by negative returns in 2018 The upshot was a return of 36.9 billion kroner ($5.5 billion), before costs and taxes, said ATP, which oversees about $130 billion of assets from its headquarters north of Copenhagen. Read also SA retirement...

October 24, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...