June 2022
01Jun

European Union Will Lend Ukraine EUR 9 Billion for pensions, among others

The European Union Summit has decided to provide Ukraine with an urgent loan in the amount of EUR 9 billion to pay off urgent budgetary needs. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated this at a press conference on the night of May 31, European Pravda reports. "Ukraine needs urgent financial support. As you know, about EUR 5 billion is required monthly in Ukraine to support basic payments, such as salaries, pensions, etc.," von der Leyen recalled, speaking...

June 1, 2022
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April 2022
19Apr

World Bank cuts 2022 global growth outlook on Russia invasion

The World Bank cut its forecast for global economic expansion this year on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and is planning to mobilize a funding package bigger than the COVID-19 response for nations to deal with various resulting and ongoing crises. The institution lowered its estimate for global growth in 2022 to 3.2% from a January prediction of 4.1%, President David Malpass told reporters on a call on Monday. The decline was spurred by a cut in the outlook for Europe...

April 19, 2022
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March 2022
08Mar

U.K. pension regulator calls for vigilance over Russia risks

U.K. pension fund trustees should be "vigilant" about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions might affect them, The Pensions Regulator cautioned in a March 4 guidance. TPR recognized that some trustees and their advisers have already been reviewing their exposure risks, and set expectations for those reviews. "We expect you to be vigilant and talk to your advisers about any action which you may need to take, depending on your scheme's investment, risk management or employer covenant exposures,"...

March 8, 2022
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07Mar

IMF Sees ‘Severe Impact’ on Global Economy From War, Sanctions

The International Monetary Fund warned Russia’s war with Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed upon President Vladimir Putin’s country will have a “severe impact” on the global economy. “While the situation remains highly fluid and the outlook is subject to extraordinary uncertainty, the economic consequences are already very serious,” the Washington-based lender said in a statement on Saturday. Food and energy prices have surged in recent days and supply chains have frayed, adding to the inflationary pressures that policy makers were...

March 7, 2022
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More U.K., European investors move away from Russia
04Mar

More U.K., European investors move away from Russia

Asset owners and managers across the U.K. and Europe continued moving away from Russian investments following the invasion of Ukraine. The Swedish Pensions Agency on Monday placed an immediate ban on purchasing Russian funds. "We are stopping the possibility of buying the funds that focus most heavily on investments in Russia. This is done to protect pension savers," said Erik Fransson, head of fund management for the SPA, in a news release. SPA has 2.1 trillion (232 billion) Swedish kronor...

March 4, 2022
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State Pensions Can’t Dump Russian Investments They Don’t Even Know They Own
04Mar

US. State Pensions Can’t Dump Russian Investments They Don’t Even Know They Own

By Edward Siedle Across the nation politicians are naïvely calling for state pensions to dump their Russian investments to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine. Since state pensions have in recent years agreed to let Wall Street fund managers keep secret their investment holdings, states don’t even know the Russian assets they hold. Yesterday, state Attorney General Dave Yost publicly called upon Ohio’s five public employee retirement funds to divest themselves of Russian financial holdings to further punish the...

March 4, 2022
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Pension Investments: Impacts of the Ukraine / Russia Crisis
04Mar

Pension Investments: Impacts of the Ukraine / Russia Crisis

Pension scheme trustees will naturally be considering what, if any, steps they may wish to take as the economic effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine have begun to be felt worldwide, and as further economic sanctions and restrictions have been imposed on Russia and Belarus. There are two issues for trustees to consider: 1.whether any of their investments are now subject to sanctions; and 2.whether, in the light of sanctions and the economic and political consequences arising from the Russian invasion of...

March 4, 2022
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03Mar

Global Pension Funds Shun Russian Investments

A growing number of pension funds are shunning investments in Russia following the country’s military invasion of Ukraine. Norway’s minister of finance said he will ask the Government Pension Fund Global, Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, to freeze all its investments in Russia immediately, and also divest from Russia. Read also From Japan to the US, sanctions threaten top pension funds’ Russia assets “Given the way the situation has evolved, we consider it necessary for the fund to divest its Russian...

March 3, 2022
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02Mar

From Japan to the US, sanctions threaten top pension funds’ Russia assets

Norway’s announcement it would divest its sovereign wealth fund’s Russian holdings – totalling $2.8 billion as of end-December – as a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised the prospect that other state-backed pension funds might follow their governments’ cues and offload assets en masse. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) – the largest in the world by assets – had ¥213.1 billion ($1.9 billion) in exposures to Russia as of end-March 2021. Read more @Risk 332 views

March 2, 2022
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02Mar

UK firms rush to dump Russian assets amid efforts to isolate Moscow

British firms are scrambling to dump Russian assets amid efforts by the US, EU and UK governments to deepen Moscow’s economic isolation after the invasion of Ukraine. Read also More U.K., European investors move away from Russia Legal & General, Abrdn and state-backed pension scheme Nest have said they will try to sell their holdings in Russian stocks, while British Gas owner Centrica on Tuesday became the third big British energy firm to cut ties with Russia within a week, echoing...

March 2, 2022
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