May 2024
03May

Canadian Pensions Returned 2.5% in the First Quarter

Canadian institutional defined benefit plans returned 2.5% in Q1 2024, according to the Northern Trust Canada Universe, a tracker which measures the performance of Canadian DB plans that are subscribed to Northern Trust’s performance measurement services.  Inflation and monetary policy were front and center during the first quarter. “The transition through interest rate cycles within the economic ecosystem quite often can be a challenging path,” said Katie Pries, president and CEO of Northern Trust Canada, in the firm’s news release. The biggest driver of Canadian...

May 3, 2024
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April 2024
26Apr

UK. Public trust in pensions rises, but reservations remain

Trafalgar House’s Trust and Confidence Index polled 2,000 people to assess how much they trust the pension industry and whether they believe it will meet their retirement needs. It asked participants to rate their trust in the pensions industry on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being “not at all” and 10 being “a lot”. The index found that trust in the pensions industry increased to 5.26 out of 10 in 2023, up from 4.95 in 2022. This...

April 26, 2024
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23Apr

Italian schemes bolster ESG standards in private equity allocations

Italian industry-wide pension funds (Fondi Negoziali) are increasingly applying ESG standards to private equity investments. According to a report on ESG and investment policies of Italian institutional investors published by think tank Itinerari Previdenziali, 21% of industry-wide pension schemes apply ESG criteria to allocate to private equity, a steep rise from the 7% recorded in 2023. However, occupational, pre-existing and first pillar schemes (Casse di Previndeza) still shy away from handing out specific mandates for asset management linked to sustainability goals, the...

April 23, 2024
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19Apr

Pension Fund Trustees and Fiduciary Duties: Decision-making in the context of Sustainability and the subject of Climate Change

By Financial Markets Law Committee For pension funds, setting investment strategy, principles and policies and making investment decisions have all become more challenging in the context of sustainability and the subject of climate change.  This has given rise to renewed uncertainty over what the “fiduciary duties” or trust duties owed by trustees of pension funds require in this context. Since the pensions sector is a major allocator of capital, legal uncertainties affecting pension fund trustees have the potential to adversely affect...

April 19, 2024
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09Apr

Pensions giant to create UK superfund in boost for Hunt

Britain’s biggest long-term savings and retirement business is drawing up plans to launch a new superfund to back fast-growing companies in a boost for Jeremy Hunt. Phoenix, which owns insurer Standard Life, is in the early stages of creating a multibillion-pound investment vehicle that insiders say will help turbocharge investment in high-growth sectors and lift pension returns. This includes pooling cash to invest in life sciences and fintech businesses, as well as injecting long-term venture capital into unlisted companies in the...

April 9, 2024
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08Apr

Largest Australia Pension Fund Says Now Is the Time to Buy Private Assets

Australia’s largest pension fund wants to put more money into private-market investments and will further boost its exposure to overseas assets. “Now is a better time to put money into private markets than two or three years ago, when valuations were more expensive and deals were quite scarce,” AustralianSuper Chief Investment Officer Mark Delaney said on Bloomberg TV in Melbourne on Monday. “The inability for a lot of US pension plans to recycle capital has meant that private deal opportunities are...

April 8, 2024
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08Apr

Japan’s GPIF and Netherlands’ APG join forces to invest in infrastructure

Japan’s ¥225trn (€1.37trn) Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and Dutch pensions asset manager APG have teamed up to invest in infrastructure. The pension fund investors said they have launched the joint investment programme to “gain access to attractive investment opportunities, with a focus on infrastructure in developed markets worldwide”, without disclosing any financial information. The partnership is expected to focus on sectors such as sustainable energy, fibre networks, transport and other infrastructure projects. “The partnership will focus on investment opportunities that align with...

April 8, 2024
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05Apr

UK: FCA to examine asset management fees, pensions

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is to launch a market study on asset management to examine charges paid by investors, the regulator said on Tuesday, as it laid out its business plan for the coming year. Other areas of focus include examining whether pension firms are helping consumers make the right choices, following an overhaul announced in 2014 which eased requirements on people to buy annuities as part of their pension. “The business plan is set against the backdrop of the...

April 5, 2024
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March 2024
27Mar

Global top 300 pension funds

By Thinking Ahead Institute The global top 300 pension funds is an annual study conducted by the Thinking Ahead Institute, in conjunction with Pensions and Investments. The research highlights high-level trends in the pension fund industry and provides information on how the characteristics of these top funds have changed. Get the report here

March 27, 2024
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27Mar

Report on long term investing of large pension funds and public pension reserve funds 2023: Annual Survey of Large Pension Funds and Public Pension Reserve Funds

By Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development This is the tenth edition of the OECD survey of large pension funds and public pension reserve funds that collects long-term investment data since it was first published in 2011. The scope of this report covers 87 public and private pension funds from 34 countries. This survey is based on a qualitative questionnaire sent directly to large pension funds and public pension reserve funds. It covers the infrastructure investments made by large pension...

March 27, 2024
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