September 2019

12Sep

Dutch AM giant wins ESG equity mandate from pension fund

Dutch asset management firm Actiam has won a new global equity mandate that it will manage on behalf of the KAS BANK Pension Fund. Aside from a specific return target, the mandate will have to outperform the MSCI ACWI bencmark. The mandate has an initial volume of €100 million and is designed to contribute to KAS BANK Pension Fund realising its ambitions under the sustainable development goals. Commenting on the new mandate, Hans van Houwelingen, CEO at Actiam, said:...

September 12, 2019
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12Sep

Should Pension Funds add Bitcoin to their Portfolio?

Pension funds are considered to be among the most conservative investors nowadays, and for relatively obvious reasons. It's still hard to present blockchain, Bitcoin BTC, 2.60%, and other investing opportunities behind arising from innovative technology to future pensioners, as they are focused on steady, guaranteed paybacks of their hard-earned fiat money. Taking a closer look to European pension plans reveals that if you, for example, decided to trust the German government, or a German pension fund manager with 20,000...

September 12, 2019
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11Sep

Government’s plan to go after pension funds could financially ruin South Africans

Analysts and opposition parties have warned against government’s plans to force pension funds to invest in bonds issued by government. In August, president Cyril Ramaphosa said that South Africa should investigate using worker pensions to finance development and infrastructure projects. “We need to discuss this matter (prescribed assets) and we need to discuss it with a view to actually saying what is it we can do to utilise the various resources in our country to generate growth in a...

September 11, 2019
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10Sep

Australian pension funds’ $168bln ‘wall of cash’ may lead overseas

Australian pension funds are sitting on a A$245 billion ($167.38 billion) 'wall of money' that will probably flow overseas because of a lack of domestic options, asset managers say. Thanks to Australian laws requiring employers to contribute at least 9% of a worker's salary to a pension, superannuation funds, as they are known locally, are the world's third-largest pool of pension assets, worth about $1.9 trillion. The Australian stock market is worth only $1 trillion. The nearly 2:1 ratio...

September 10, 2019
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09Sep

European stocks cautious as investors eye Brexit battle and stimulus hopes

European stocks traded mixed Monday afternoon as investors monitor ongoing political chaos in the U.K. and cautious hopes for policy stimulus from the world’s major economies after a series of weak data releases. The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered just below the flatline, auto stocks adding 1.6% to lead gains while the food and beverage sector slid 1%. British newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported late on Sunday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has prepared a legal strategy to counter opposition...

September 9, 2019
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06Sep

It’s Going to Get Harder for Australian Pension Funds to Make Money

Australia’s pension funds will be forced to push more money into less traditional assets -- such as apartment developments and even direct lending to companies -- after the strong recent performance of equities and fixed-income left valuations lofty in public markets. That’s the assessment of investors managing money directly for, or on behalf of, the country’s A$2.9 trillion ($2 trillion) pension pool, who gathered in Hobart this week. With four out of five retirement savers in funds that have a...

September 6, 2019
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05Sep

Hong Kong. Legacy Trust have launched a crypto pension plan

The Hong Kong based company Legacy Trust has opened a pension plan based on digital assets. In what could be a world first the company have started a voluntary pension plan open to employers and the self-employed for which contributions and the underlying portfolio can include digital assets. Vincent Chok, CEO of Legacy Trust said: "Investors are moving beyond speculation — they want to use digital assets and bring them into a diversified portfolio," he then added "We...

September 5, 2019
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05Sep

Samsung Securities Signs MOU with Canadian Pension Fund for Infrastructure Investment

Samsung Securities Co. has joined hands with a foreign pension fund for the first time in the domestic investment banking industry to expand its reach in global infrastructure investment. The company announced on Sept. 4 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on mutual business partnership with Montreal-based institutional investor Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) at the company’s head office in Quebec, Canada, on Sept. 3 (local time). Founded in 1965, CDPQ...

September 5, 2019
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03Sep

Japan pension funds boost alternative assets in yield hunt, Mizuho says

Japanese pension funds are showing a growing appetite for investing in real estate and corporate debt as they seek higher returns in alternative assets amid ultra-low yields, the head of Mizuho Financial Group’s trust banking arm said. But the famously conservative investors probably won’t want a bite of SoftBank Group Corp’s new Vision Fund, Tetsuo Iimori, the chief executive of Mizuho Trust and Banking, told Reuters. Years of ultra-low interest rates have forced the hand of Japan’s mammoth pensions...

September 3, 2019
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June 2019
07Jun

U.S. Public Pension Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Trustees and Investment Staff

By Von M Hughes In an ever-changing financial and political landscape, your job as a public pension fiduciary continues to get more difficult. Now, you have the help you need. U.S. Public Pension Handbook is the only one-stop resource that covers the various areas of public pension policy design, governance, investment management, infrastructure, accounting, and law. This comprehensive guide presents critical data, information, and insights in topic-specific, easy-to-understand ways--providing the knowledge you need to elevate...

June 7, 2019
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