January 2022

US. SEC proposes expansion of private fund reporting requirements

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved proposing rule amendments to expand reporting requirements for large hedge fund and private equity firms. In a 3-1 vote, with the commission's lone Republican, Hester M. Peirce, dissenting, the SEC proposed amendments to its Form PF to require private fund advisers to file reports within one business day of events that indicate significant stress at a fund that could harm investors or signal risk in the broader financial system. Those events include...

Australian Pension Seeks to Double Its Assets to $108 Billion by 2025

Australia’s Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund expects to double assets to A$150 billion ($108 billion) in three years by snapping up rivals as regulator scrutiny forces smaller firms to exit. The Melbourne-based fund is talking to like-minded firms which will help it hit the target “in a couple years,” the A$68 billion fund’s Chairman Wayne Swan said in an interview Wednesday. “We don’t seek to grow for growth’s sake,” he said. “We seek to grow so we can deliver a...

UK. Parliament moves to ban flat fees on small pots

The move comes almost exactly a year since the Department for Work and Pensions formally proposed the ban in response to the review of the default fund charge cap. At that time, research from the Pensions Policy Institute estimated that the number of small, deferred pots in master trusts could surge from 8m to 27m by 2035, with the cost to members in fees and other charges reaching £1.2bn, in some cases wiping out small pots entirely. While the industry was...

US. The clock is ticking on retirement security bills, industry experts say

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are motivated to pass another major retirement security package in 2022, but with midterm elections looming in November, time is of the essence, retirement industry sources said. Bipartisan bills were introduced in the House and Senate in 2021 that build on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, known as the SECURE Act, which Congress passed and was signed into law in late 2019. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Ben Cardin, D-Md.,...

US. What the Pension Protection Act has taught us about saving for retirement

They say that hindsight is 20/20. And as we look back on the Pension Protection Act, which was passed just over 15 years ago, it’s clear that our understanding of the law has, well, cleared up. Commendably, this legislation was crafted with the best of intentions — to help more Americans save for retirement — but its unintended consequences made a greater impact for too long. Among other provisions, the Pension Protection Act gave plan sponsors the power to automatically enroll...

UK. PMI warns majority of savers will be caught out by pension age rise

According to research from the PMI, published on December 29, which surveyed 2,000 individuals, 82 per cent of working people in their forties were not aware of the upcoming rise in the NMPA, which is set to increase from 55 to 57 in April 2028. The PMI said this change will directly affect the retirement options for those currently in their mid to late forties. The increase in the NMPA has been criticised across the industry as it will not apply...

December 2021

Fintech Regulation in Mexico Updated: March 31, 2021

By Catalyst Fund. BFA Global The CCAF and BFA Global have produced this deck to support fintech startups working in Mexico and those seeking to enter the Mexican fintech market. This deck provides an overview of Mexico’s regulatory regime as it relates to the fintech verticals of: ❏ Banking ❏ Credit ❏ Insurance ❏ Payments ❏ Investment The deck also offers recommendations on how startups can best engage with regulators and tools to help them do so. Get the book here 358 views  

UK. Demands to delay rises in the state pension age

Plans to raise the state pension age from 66 should be shelved because we are not living as long as previously expected, a new report has suggested. Current plans would see the age at which people are eligible for the state pension go up to 67 by 2028, and then eventually to 68. Consultant LCP says life expectancy has stalled and no changes should be made for 30 years. The government has just launched its latest review of the state pension age. At...

EU. EIOPA highlights key risks for the insurance and pension sectors

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published today its December 2021 Financial Stability Report. The analysis underpinning the report examined key macroeconomic developments and the prevalence of risks that are key for the insurance and pension sectors. On the macroeconomic side, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a challenge to European economies. Uncertainties relating to the path of the pandemic and supply chain disruptions weigh on the growth outlook. Despite the recent pick-up in long-term yields, markets still operate...

UK. Thousands of savers no longer able to participate in workplace pensions

UK. Thousands of savers no longer able to participate in workplace pensions

The pandemic has impacted people's ability to save, with 300,000 savers no longer able to participate in a workplace pension, according to research. The repercussions of lockdown, particularly domestic work and homeschooling, have caused women to suffer the largest financial strain, with them being 50 per cent more likely to enter their retirement without a private pension than men. ‘Pandemics and pension inequality’, a Now Pensions report in collaboration with the Pensions Policy Institute, highlighted a rise in what it called...