September 2022

Ghana. Pensions industry loses US$800 million in 2 years to weakening cedi

The Executive Secretary said although the cedi value of assets under management (AUM) has increased, the dollar value of those assets has fallen. Detailing the situation in an interview with the B&FT, Mr. Esso said: “The effect of the [local] currency’s depreciation has affected the assets under management in the pensions industry. In 2020 the industry in cedi terms was about GH¢22billion, and when you juxtapose that with the dollar there was about US$3.8billion. “Currently, we are looking at an estimate...

August 2022

Australia’s Pensions Suffer Worst Year Since Financial Crisis

Australia’s pensions posted their worst annual performance since the global financial crisis as markets were roiled by central banks’ aggressive rate hikes and the war in Ukraine. Read also Should Pension Funds ‘Invest’ in Crypto? Guardians of the world’s fifth largest pension pot shed A$92.8 billion ($64 billion) on investments in the fiscal year through June 30, the biggest loss for the period since 2009, according to Australian Prudential Regulation Authority data released Tuesday. That saw the pool of savings fall...

Tough Times Ahead Warns CEO of Australia’s Largest Pension Fund

Consumers and businesses will continue to struggle as global policy makers battle to get inflation under control, the head of Australia’s largest pension fund told a media forum. “Our view is that there are some pretty tough times ahead,” Paul Schroder, chief executive officer of the A$260 billion ($182 billion) AustralianSuper Pty, said on Tuesday. “We think we are in a continually tight environment. The question now is what is the rate of that tightening and is there a pivot around...

July 2022

In a Highly Indebted Economy: Security Issues for the Asset-based China’s Reform and the Financial System

By Tianyong Zhou Since the start of the 21st century, all major global economies have been experiencing a shift to a model of low consumption, low interest rate, low inflation, low growth and high debt. China is no exception. This article argues that in the high-indebtedness economic model, the proportion of committed and guaranteed debt service credit is decreasing, while the proportion of asset-backed credit corresponding to debt is on the rise; and with respect to currency stability, the role...

South Korea pension fund says it is not driving won down

South Korea's national pension service, manageing the world's third-largest pension fund, said on Thursday its rising overseas investment was not a main driver of the won's recent weakening. "The fund is applying a strategic FX hedging strategy when the foreign exchange rate stands above a certain level," the National Pension Service said in a statement while responding to local media reports blaming it for the won's fall. Read more @Channel News Asia 231 views

South Korea huge pension fund a local force driving won lower

South Korea's strenuous attempts to defend a sharply weakening currency have run into an unstoppable home-made force working in the opposite direction: the national pension fund. The National Pension Service (NPS), the world's third-largest such fund, has a hefty and growing appetite for equity and bond investment abroad, which it can feed only by selling won for foreign currency. It made net purchases of about $10 billion of foreign bonds and stocks in the first five months of 2022, central bank...

US. Biggest Investor Worries Are Inflation and Recession Risk

Top retirement income concerns for investors are inflation and recession anxiety, a new report reveals. The Alliance for Lifetime Income and CANNEX research from the “Protected Retirement Income and Planning Study” found that four out of five U.S. workers age 45 to 75 cited concerns that high inflation will reduce their spending power in retirement (81%) and that a recession will drive the economy downward and may reduce the amount of retirement income they can expect (79%). Retirement income anxiety is...

June 2022

Does Informality Hold the Key to Growth and Stability?

By Meghna Dutta This paper attempts to analyse the impact of a prevailing informal sector on the dynamics of growth and inflation in developing economies. The high growth rates posited by most developing economies in the presence of a huge informal sector suggest that this sector might not be the malefactor as often indicated. The main results show that the informal economy not only contributes to economic growth but the firms also help to significantly reduce inflation by generating employment...

US. Rising interest rates make it trickier to choose between a lump sum or an annuity

About 15% of private-sector workers have access to a traditional pension, which they often are able to take as a lump sum instead of an annuity. For anyone edging close to a retirement date, be aware that the higher the interest rate used to calculate a lump sum, the smaller the amount. On the other hand, pension annuities typically do not come with cost-of-living adjustments, making them susceptible to inflation risk. Here’s what to know. When you’re nearing retirement and are due a...

Hong Kong Pension Pot Shrinks 11% on China Market Turmoil

It’s been a bad year for Hong Kong residents counting on Greater China for their retirement savings. The mandatory provident fund -- Hong Kong’s pension system -- has lost about 11% since the start of 2021, walloped by China’s industry crackdowns and Covid Zero policy, which overshadowed gains in US assets. That erased HK$130 billion ($17 billion) in total, or about HK$28,300 for each account at the end of May, according to researcher MPF Ratings Ltd. The retirement losses add to...