January 2023

OECD says pension funds must take ‘extreme care’ with liquidity risks

Pension funds should be “extremely careful” when investing in illiquid assets, as rising interest rates and falling stock markets increase the likelihood of their having to access cash quickly, the OECD has warned. In the recent era of low interest rates, pension funds poured money into alternative investments, such as infrastructure projects and private equity, in an effort to escape the low yields available on government bonds. But such investments are typically illiquid, meaning the funds cannot quickly convert them...

Dutch medical specialists: focus on healthy pensions

Medicine and finance can be seen as two very distant disciplines. Perhaps pension fund management is where the two disciplines find common ground. When it comes to pensions, a finance practitioner must be able to think and act with a long-term objective in mind and to put the well-being of its clients above everything else, as a healthcare professional would deal with a patient. That common ground is a strong foundation for Stichting Pensioenfonds Medisch Specialisten (SPMS), the pension fund...

UK. Work and pensions minister quits for ‘personal reasons’

Work and pensions minister Baroness Stedman-Scott has stepped down for “personal reasons”, Downing Street has said. Lady Stedman-Scott, 67, has been a minister in the department since 2019, having previously been a Government whip in the House of Lords. She is replaced by Viscount Younger of Leckie, who moves from the whips’ office where he is in turn replaced by Lord Evans of Rainow. Read more @cityam 336 views

Robots Are Taking Over Jobs, but Don’t Panic Yet

One might easily think that robots are causing significant disruption in the labor market by replacing human workers, especially when considering examples like chatbots serving as more efficient customer service representatives or computer programs handling package tracking and transportation without human intervention. According to a study by Eric Dahlin, a sociology professor at Brigham Young University, there is no need to fear an imminent robot takeover of jobs. Dahlin’s research suggests that the rate at which robots are replacing humans...

December 2022

Malaysia’s ageing population needs government attention

A news portal recently reported that a developer plans to turn Butterworth into a retirees’ haven. The report’s subtitle read: “Jayamas Property Group to create niche location, as Malaysia heads towards an ageing population by 2030.” The report said Butterworth is already being targeted as a private housing development hub for the elderly, with medical and healthcare services. Unfortunately, only wealthy senior citizens will be able to afford such services. The Department of Statistics has predicted that the country may soon become...

5 Threats to Sustainable Investing in 2023

A term that went from euphoria to criticism. That has been the parabolic path of sustainable investing in recent years. Now, investors wonder what’s in store for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing in 2023, and more importantly, what the threats to ESG might be. “Sustainable investing and the consideration of ESG factors have become part of the investment mainstream over the past few years. The rapid growth has been spurred by the need for investors to consider nonfinancial risks...

U.K. Altmann hits out at providers for pension positivity failure

Providers have failed to engage or enthuse millions of auto-enrolment customers with positive pension messages, undermining the policy by not explaining the advantages of pensions, Baroness Ros Altmann says. The campaigner and former pensions minister said that, rather than "constant negative messaging", people needed to know about the positives of pensions so they understand the free money they will have and higher benefit payments they could have if they keep paying in. Altmann's comments come as research by The Pensions Management Institute...

Turkey’s president abolishes the retirement age by decree

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the end of the retirement age requirement, which gives over 2 million Turks the possibility of immediately choosing to exercise the right to a pension, according to what was communicated in a press conference yesterday evening. Currently, the retirement age is 58 for women and 60 for men. «With the regulation that we agree with today, about 2.25 million more people will be entitled to retire. No age limit to be entitled to...

Ahorradores pensionarios chilenos viven mal 2022

La volatilidad marcó los resultados de los multifondos de las Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFP) durante este año, al punto que los portafolios de pensiones podrían cerrar 2022 con su segundo peor rendimiento acumulado anual desde su creación en 2002 para los fondos A, B y C, que registran caídas solo superadas por los descensos del 2008, en el marco de la crisis subprime. Según un análisis de Ciedess, entre enero y el 25 de diciembre, el fondo más...

México. Las Afores arrancan el año cobrando el mínimo histórico pero con la amenaza de la inflación

Sigue siendo un momento histórico para las Administradoras de Fondos para el Retiro (Afores). La Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (Consar) ya ha anunciado las comisiones autorizadas para las 10 entidades que administran los fondos de jubilación de los mexicanos. Así, las Afores cobrarán un promedio de 0,566% sobre el total del saldo administrado, un mínimo histórico ... Sigue siendo un momento histórico para las Administradoras de Fondos para el Retiro (Afores). La Comisión Nacional del...