November 2024

Pension Liquidity Risk

By Kristy Jansen, Sven Klingler, Angelo Ranaldo & Patty Duijm Pension funds rely on interest rate swaps to hedge the interest rate risk arising from their liabilities. Analyzing unique data on Dutch pension funds, we show that this hedging behavior exposes pension funds to liquidity risk due to margin calls, which can be as large as 15% of their total assets. Our analysis uncovers three key findings: (i) pension funds with tighter regulatory constraints use swaps more aggressively; (ii) in...

US PRT Market sees $14B in Volume in Q3

Following a record-breaking first half of 2024 for the U.S. pension risk transfer market, which closed at $26 billion through June 30, the third quarter also finished strong, according to Legal & General Retirement America’s November market update. The third quarter closed at an estimated $14 billion in total premium—a 35% increase from the third quarter of last year, which landed at $10.6 billion. A huge chunk of that total came from one deal: IBM’s $6 billion PRT with Prudential Insurance Co. of America in September...

New York City Pension Investments with MWBE Asset Managers Reach Record of $23.1 Billion for Fiscal Year 2024; Grew Nearly 40% During Comptroller Lander’s Tenure

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a report announcing that investments by the City’s five pension funds with minority- and women-owned asset management firms grew to $23.1 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, an increase of $6.3 billion, or 37.5% since Lander took office. Assets under management by MWBE firms grew from $16.8 billion in FY22 (11.6% of actively-managed US assets), to $19.5 billion in (12.7%) in FY23, to $23.1 billion (13.3%) in FY24. Investment firms owned by people of color and...

Kodak looks to terminate US pensions, will gain over $500 million in finances

According to a filing with the SEC, Kodak said that it looks to cut its pension plan. The plan has increased significantly due to initial contributions and market performance. The SEC filing stated that Kodak looks to use the cash from the cut and sale of the plan, which would to offset its debt. The sale — which also includes the sale of “illiquid assets” — was to Mastercard Foundation, and Kodak would retrieve more than $500 million. Kodak confirmed with...

Largest asset owners reach record $26.3trn; pension funds see smallest growth

The world's largest 100 asset owners now hold a record $26.3trn in total assets, although pension funds saw the smallest growth rate, with assets held rising by 8.9 per cent from the previous year, analysis from Thinking Ahead Institute (TIA) has revealed. The research showed that the assets of the top 100 asset owners globally saw a return to growth in 2023 after a fall of 8.7 per cent in 2022, with the 12.3 per cent year-on-year increase helping to...

Global Investor Insights Survey: Pension funds results

By Schroders The Schroders Global Investor Insights Survey analyses the investment perspectives of global financial professionals on a range of topics including macro themes, sustainability and public and private markets. The respondents represent a spectrum of institutions, including pension funds which are the focus of this report.​ The field work was carried out by CoreData Research via an extensive global survey during June–July 2024. The 420 pension fund respondents were split as follows: 28% Corporate DB, 14% Corporate DC, 13% Corporate Hybrid...

Top Global Pension Funds Allocated $708bn to Private Equity

Global pension funds continue to increase their allocation to private equity, with the top 20 global pension funds with the largest dollar allocation to private equity devoting a total of $707.6 billion to the asset class so far in 2024. S&P Global Market Intelligence data revealed that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has the largest allocation at $143.9 billion, representing more than 24% of its total assets. This was followed by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System with a $83.5...

Pension Funds Market Report 2024

By Research and Markets The pension funds market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $63.8 trillion in 2023 to $69.41 trillion in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8%. The growth observed in the historic period was driven by several factors, including increasing aging populations, improving economic conditions and growth rates, fluctuating long-term interest rates, evolving legislative and regulatory frameworks, enhanced performance in stock and bond markets, varying inflation rates, and changes...

October 2024

South Korea: Pension subscribers allowed to change pension fund managers starting today

Financial institutions in South Korea, including insurance companies, have been busy with plans to attract customers who wish to switch the companies managing their pension accounts. Starting today (31 October), pension subscribers are allowed to shift their accounts to other financial companies without having to terminate the pension plans with the pension fund manager they wished to move from. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, as of 30 September 2024, total pension funds amounted to KRW400.79tn ($290bn). Of this total, insurance companies accounted for KRW93.27tn...

Uruguay Elections: majority rejects pension reform and two candidates move on to the second round.

Early exit polls suggested opposition centre-left candidate Orsi had secured 44% of the vote, followed by Delgado's 27% for the ruling coalition and 16% for young conservative social media expert Andres Ojeda. Early exit polls in Uruguay's election suggest centre-left opposition candidate Yamandu Orsi is ahead of conservative rival Alvaro Delgado and a run-off vote is likely to be needed for a direct duel. Orsi had obtained 44% of the votes, according to an exit poll by Cifra, followed by Delgado's...