November 2019

Severe $15.8 trillion pension crisis looms worldwide

The U.S., China and other leading economies confront a massive funding gap of $15.8 trillion in 2050 to ensure lifetime financial support for their aging populations. Read also Latin Americans Are Clamoring for Equality — and Democracy That’s according to a report spearheaded by former U.K. Financial Services Authority Chairman Adair Turner for the prestigious Group of 30, comprised of current and former policy makers. Read also US. Pensions Venture Into Risky Corners of the Market in Hunt for Returns “If...

The Role DC Plan Investment Menus Play in Participant Savings

A recent analysis by Alight Solutions found retirement plan participants invested in target-date funds (TDFs) are contributing less than those who don’t utilize TDFs. However, a Vanguard report highlighted the extreme growth among these investment funds—93% of plans associated with the advisory firm have adopted TDFs as of 2018. That same year, TDFs accounted for more than one-third of total Vanguard defined contribution (DC) plan assets and over half of total DC plan contributions. TDFs’ domination of the total...

UK. Have we reached “peak fintech”?

Fintech has become so ubiquitous you can’t go outside without seeing an advert for a new payments card or a new app for money transfers, pensions or investments. Not only that, the United Kingdom has over 1,600 fintech firms – a number which is forecast to more than double in the next decade – that employ over 75,000 people and have raised more than £12 billion over the last five years. For all the growth, however, the industry’s reach...

US. 3 ways retirement plan design can address workforce challenges

Today’s workforce is more diverse than ever before. With five generations of employees spanning a wide array of generations, socioeconomic brackets, educational backgrounds, geographies and job types, employers need to think about how to structure a retirement plan to address the differing needs of workers. A well-structured retirement plan enables workers to build sufficient savings, manage risk, choose appropriate investments, generate lifetime income and save for expenses in retirement. It can also serve as a key differentiator in...

México. Cuentas de trabajadores asignados, el gran pendiente de las Afores

Las cuentas de los trabajadores que no han elegido alguna Afore en el Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (SAR), totalizan la cantidad de 19 millones 4 mil 818 al cierre de septiembre pasado (el dato más actualizado); con respecto a las cuentas totales se trata prácticamente de la tercera parte, 29.29 por ciento del gran total, para ser exactos. Es sin duda uno de los grandes pendientes de las Afores, que no han cumplido cabalmente con el objetivo...

Banco Central de Chile anuncia inyección de USD $4.000 millones para frenar caída del peso

El Banco Central de Chile anunció este miércoles la inyección de 4.000 millones de dólares a través de licitaciones a 30 y 90 días, para frenar la caída del peso local que cerró en un mínimo histórico de 794,97 unidades por dólar. En un comunicado, la entidad emisora informó que había tomado esa decisión para "mitigar eventuales tensiones" en los mercados financieros, "al combinarse los acontecimientos sociales recientes con la menor liquidez que usualmente se observa en la última...

Australia. A 24-Year-Old Is Suing Pension Fund for Not Being Green Enough

Mark McVeigh, a 24-year-old environmental scientist from Australia, won’t be able to access his retirement savings until 2055. But, concerned about what the world may look like then, he’s taking action now, suing his A$57 billion ($39 billion) pension fund for not adequately disclosing or assessing the impact of climate change on its investments. The Federal Court battle is shaping up to be a unique test case. Are pension funds in breach of their fiduciary duties by failing to...

US. Federal pension fund to include China investments, bucking political pressure

A pension fund for federal workers on Wednesday said it will begin tracking a benchmark that includes China-listed companies, despite strong opposition from a bipartisan group of Senators. The decision by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), an independent government agency that oversees the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) retirement fund, comes amid heightened trade tensions with China and efforts to limit the flow of U.S. capital to Chinese companies due to security concerns. It also bucks months of...

UK. How the new govt should reform pensions

Auto-enrolment provider the People’s Pension has published five demands on the next government to improve pension saving in the UK. In particular the provider wants the next government to help people on low incomes, reduce the gender pensions gap and to make pensions more transparent. Auto-enrolment has widely been considered a success with 10m more people now saving for retirement than did before the policy was rolled out in late 2012. But in its new manifesto, published today...

How Fintech’s Third Wave Will Change How You Bank

The origins of today’s boom in consumer-focused “fintech,” or financial technology, trace back to the global economic meltdown in 2008. Since that disaster struck, the industry has evolved through three discrete phases, says Jason Brown, CEO and cofounder of Tally, a fintech startup, on Balancing The Ledger, Fortune’s show covering the intersection of finance and tech. The first wave met demands resulting from the aftermath of the financial crisis: A need for credit fueled alternative lenders. Online and peer-to-peer...