January 2018

Singapore needs to strengthen second and third pension pillars

Singapore’s corporate and private pension systems need to be reinforced to mitigate the financial deficiency in its fundamental pension system, according to Fullerton Fund Management (Fullerton), the asset management arm of Temasek Holdings, the city state’s sovereign wealth fund. Vincent Chan, co-head of multi-asset at Fullerton, says the fundamental pension scheme, or the first pillar of the pension system, is currently the main focus of retirement savings in Singapore. The Central Provident Fund (CPF), the city state’s compulsory pension fund,...

19 reasons why India’s biometrics project ought to be scrapped

The Indian government has been pushing through the world’s largest biometric identification program, Aadhaar, with Indians being forced to use it to avail themselves of basic services. From getting mobile phone connections to paying income tax, accessing subsidized food, health services and pensions, virtually everything now needs to be linked to an Aadhaar number, and verified and authenticated by biometrics. The Supreme Court of India has been hearing a clutch of petitions against Aadhaar but the federal government is pushing...

Brazil Pays Credit-Rating Price on Pension Overhaul Failure

Brazil paid the price for failing to approve President Michel Temer’s flagship pension overhaul as S&P Global Ratings downgraded Latin America’s largest economy further into junk territory. S&P cut Brazil’s debt rating to BB-, three notches below investment grade and the same as Bangladesh, Macedonia and the Dominican Republic. The outlook is stable, S&P said. The decision marks a defeat for Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles, who late last year met officials from the three major rating companies to fend off a...

Dutch ABP pension fund to pull investments in tobacco, nuclear arms makers

ABP, the largest Dutch pension fund, plans to sell its remaining holdings in tobacco companies and nuclear arms manufacturers, worth roughly 3.3 billion euros ($4 billion), it said on Thursday. ABP said in a statement it aimed to divest the holdings, which were not named, within a year. "ABP is taking the next step in its sustainable and responsible investment policy," it said. "Participants, employers and other stakeholders have growing concerns about investments in tobacco and nuclear arms." Read more HERE: Nasdaq

New York sues fossil fuel majors, plans divestment from pension funds

New York City announced on Wednesday that it filed a multibillion dollar lawsuit against five top oil companies, citing their “contributions to global warming,” as it said it would divest fossil fuel investments from its $189 billion public pension funds over the next five years. The lawsuit, against BP Plc, Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, follows similar lawsuits filed last year by San Francisco and other California cities seeking billions of dollars in damages...

The Pensions That Ate Latin America

Long hailed for its youth and vigor, Latin America is graying fast, raising the specter of fiscal crisis as retirees outnumber the able-bodied workers required to support them. Yet even as a new generation of national leaders seeks to shore up a shaky pillar of the social contract, a rebellion against pension reform is in full cry. Chileans poured into the streets ahead of this year’s election to roll back free-market-inspired reforms conceived under former dictator Augusto Pinochet. Thousands of...

Britain’s $2.9 Trillion Pension Industry Yanks Money From Equities

If the basic tenet of investing is knowing when to buy and sell, the stock market boom has taken that decision out of the hands of some money managers. The $2.9 trillion British pension fund industry is yanking money at an accelerated pace as company valuations forge new records globally. The reason is that the gains are triggering sell orders to quickly lock in investment returns, a safety mechanism introduced after the financial crisis to reduce exposure to potential market...

Temer Offers US$ 3 Billion in Construction Projects in Exchange for Approval of Pension Reform

Brazilian president, Michel Temer (MDB), will provide his minister in charge of relations with Congress, Carlos Marun (Secretary of Government) with R$ 10 billion (US$ 3 billion) in "ammunition" to gain the votes of lawmakers for the Pension reform. The amount will be allocated to complete construction projects in the electoral districts of those who vote in favor of the government's bill. The money would come from savings achieved this year due to the approval of new pension rules. Government estimates that...

Una mirada a los sistemas de pensiones en AL

La Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (Cepal) dio a conocer su reporte denominado Panorama Social de América Latina 2017, con un enfoque de los sistemas de pensiones en la región. Retomando este documento, nos enfocaremos en las modificaciones que han sufrido algunos de los sistemas de pensiones en América Latina (AL). De acuerdo con la comisión, en los últimos 36 años, los diversos sistemas de pensiones en AL han sufrido diversas modificaciones. Dichas modificaciones han tenido como...

Rasgos de Personalidad de Marca: El Caso de las AFP en Chile

Por Manuel Escobar Farfán (University of Santiago, Chile), Rodrigo Gallardo Canales (Universidad del Bío-Bío) y Javiera Flores Salas (Universidad del Bío-Bío) La industria de pensiones en Chile es altamente criticada por la opinión pública, por lo que es esencial trabajar en una estrategia de marca que potencie la credibilidad y posicionamiento de los diferentes participantes. El objetivo principal de esta investigación es analizar y proponer una escala de personalidad de marca, para identificar la percepción de los consumidores. La metodología...