February 2020

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...

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,...

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...

January 2020

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...

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...

Pension Actuarial Mathematics

By Philip Martin McCaulay This 40-page publication on pension actuarial mathematics covers topics such as (I) interest and mortality, (II) cost methods, (III) amortization and contributions, and (IV) Duration and Convexity. Part I on interest and mortality includes mortality rates and survival functions, the theory of interest, commutation functions, and life annuity factors. Part II on cost methods includes the Unit Credit (UC) Cost Method, the Projected Unit Credit (PUC) Cost Method, the Entry Age Normal (EAN) Cost Method,...

Ghana. SSNIT To Pay ¢243m Pension In 2020

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has announced it will pay pensions in excess of GH¢ 243 million this yearp. The amount represents an indexation rate of 11℅ for the year under review. Chief Actuary of SSNIT, Stephen Yeboah, made this known at a press conference on Thursday, January 2, 2020, in Accra. Read also Africa’s Biggest Fund Manager Needs CEO for $150 Billion Assets According to him, the 2020 indexation rate was determined using the percentage change...

December 2019

Pension Schemes in EU Show Big Shortfalls in Stress Test

A stress test of pension schemes across the European Union wiped out 270 billion euros ($298 billion) or almost a quarter of investments at funds that took part, the EU's insurance and pensions watchdog said on Tuesday. Many of the schemes were also not considering the impact of environmental, climate and social risks on their investment decisions, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) said in a statement. Investments by the tested schemes in shares also showed a...

Asset & Wealth management Revolution

By PwC The world’s Asset & Wealth Management (AWM) industry has turned its eyes to the Latin American (LatAm) region, with many fund managers looking for growth in the burgeoning market. However, the fabric underlying the industry is set to be upended in the coming years as new clients enter the space and the existing, bank dominated, distribution model begins to face challenges as clients look for new, and cheaper, ways of buying products. While economic uncertainty in the region is...

Canada’s second largest pension fund gets deadly serious about climate crisis

As world leaders converge at this week’s climate summit in Madrid to debate how best to shift to a net zero-economy, Michael Sabia is leaving the helm of Canada’s second-largest pension plan having firmly placed Quebec’s retirement savings at the forefront of the global movement for low-carbon investing. Sabia, who recently announced he’s stepping down from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in early 2020, ushered in a fundamental change in how the $326 billion Quebec...