March 2020

10Mar

What the coronavirus market fall means for UK pensions

Savers are nursing losses approaching 10% in their pension schemes since the start of the coronavirus market panic, while holders of share Isas have lost as much as a quarter of all their money in some funds. The stock market rout means someone who had accumulated £250,000 in their pension scheme at the start of this year will have seen it shrivel to about £225,000 on Monday. Holders of final salary-style pensions, mostly in the public sector, lose nothing...

March 10, 2020
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10Mar

US. Retirement plans and the coronavirus: What moves do you make?

Linda is in a panic. She’s a 65-year-old divorcée who knew she had a very risky investment strategy for her age. She’s recently retired and receives about $1,300 in Social Security. Financial support she is receiving from an ex will end next year. All was going well until the coronavirus outbreak sent stock markets around the world tumbling. Linda has 100 percent of her retirement money invested in equities. She has a home and about $60,000 in cash, which is...

March 10, 2020
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09Mar

Asset owners, managers turn to technology to combat COVID-19

Asset owners and their money managers are adapting to seeing less of each other when it comes to the day-to-day business of managing institutional portfolios. The spread of COVID-19 across the globe and the potential threat it represents to human health and disruption to basic business practices in the U.S. have led to significantly curtailed travel and heavier reliance on remote meeting technology by both investors and managers. "Everyone in the North American investment management industry is watching everything going on...

March 9, 2020
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February 2020

26Feb

Local government stops pension of 6 officials for corruption in India

Odisha government on Monday stopped pension of six retired officers and asked two other officials to take voluntary retirement from service after they were convicted in different corruption cases. The government in its order said that the service of two officials were no more required for their alleged involvement in corrupt practices, an official statement said. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has issued such a direction as part of the state government's 'Zero Tolerance' policy towards corruption, an official statement...

February 26, 2020
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26Feb

Athene Announces Pension Buyout Agreement With Armstrong World Industries

Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) (NYSE: ATH), a leading retirement services company, announced a pension buyout agreement with Armstrong World Industries (“Armstrong”) (NYSE: AWI), a leader in the design and manufacture of innovative commercial and residential ceiling, wall and suspension system solutions in the Americas. Under the terms of the transaction, Athene’s wholly-owned Iowa-domiciled life insurance subsidiary, Athene Annuity and Life Company (“AAIA”), and Athene’s wholly-owned New York-domiciled life insurance subsidiary, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York...

February 26, 2020
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21Feb

Canadian pension fund Caisse posts 10.4% return in 2019

Canada's second-biggest pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) on Thursday reported average weighted returns of 10.4% in 2019, as strength in its equities portfolio offset underperformance in real estate holdings. The overall annualized returns over five and 10 years were 8.1% and 9.2% respectively, the fund said in a statement. Total assets rose to C$340 billion ($256.8 billion) as of Dec. 31, from C$310 billion a year earlier. The Caisse's real estate portfolio posted a...

February 21, 2020
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20Feb

UK. Pension schemes to share scams intelligence online

The Pension Scams Industry Group is working with anti-fraud organisation Cifas to launch a network of open-source information on suspicious companies and pension arrangements, which specialists say could be an important step in bringing scams under control. The project will allow network members to post concerns about companies and advisers they believe may be acting inappropriately or fraudulently, collecting details on arrangements including names, telephone numbers and addresses. Not-for-profit Cifas has already completed similar work in the banking sector,...

February 20, 2020
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07Feb

Nigeria. Investing pension funds

Money saved by public and private sector workers in Nigeria for their pension under the National Pension Commission (PenCom) reached the N10 trillion mark in 2019, that is, after 15 years of consistent saving. The National Pension Commission, the regulatory body watching over private-sector pension entities that are the Custodians of the money and Pension Fund Administrators that operate like fund retailers, are the ultimate trustees of the pension money owned by about nine million Nigerians. The N10 trillion...

February 7, 2020
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January 2020

09Jan

Inside a Pension Fund’s Search for a Risk Management System

The LACERA investment team recommended MSCI’s risk analytics over competitors including BlackRock’s Aladdin system and FactSet. After a lengthy search, the investment team at the Los Angeles County Employees’ Retirement Association has settled on a new risk analytics provider. The investment team has recommended that its board hire MSCI Analytics to provide total fund analytics for the $59.6 billion pension fund, according to the agenda from a LACERA investment board meeting held on Wednesday. MSCI beat out rivals including FactSet and...

January 9, 2020
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08Jan

UK. Pension reform: Reckless bosses who plunder staff pensions to face seven years in jail

Reckless company bosses who plunder staff pension schemes will be jailed for up to seven years under proposed new laws introduced in Parliament last night. The Pension Schemes Bill will also trigger major reforms revolutionising retirement planning and boosting incomes by up to seven percent a year. Ministers said the package of measures would make Britain the “best place in the world” to retire. “With this Bill, we’re pushing ahead with our revolutionary pensions agenda and delivering for the millions of...

January 8, 2020
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