May 2024

UK. Shifting longevity one of biggest risks to pension schemes

In England, 544,054 deaths were registered in 2023, which was 3,721 (0.7%) more deaths than 2022 and 25,895 (4.8%) above the five-year average; in Wales, 36,054 deaths were registered, which was 360 (1.0%) more deaths than 2022 and 1,521 (4.2%) above the five-year average. There were more male deaths registered (295,416 deaths) than female (285,947 deaths) in 2023, continuing the trend seen in 2021 and 2022. Deaths were above the five-year average in every English region in 2023; the region with...

Goldman Strikes $43 Billion Investing Deal for UPS Pension Funds

By Marion Halftermeyer, Sridhar Natarajan   Goldman Sachs Group Inc. clinched a $43 billion mandate to invest pension fund assets of parcel-delivery company UPS, in one of the largest deals of its kind. The investment mandate announced Thursday pushes Goldman, which manages some $325 billion of such pension assets, closer to its goal of surpassing rivals in the next three to five years. Those rivals include Marsh McLennan’s Mercer, BlackRock Inc. and Russell Investments. The multitrillion-dollar global business of taking on investing responsibility...

Nigerian Government Denies It’s Attempting to Illegally Access Workers’ Pension Funds

In response to circulating rumors, the Federal Government has emphatically denied any intentions to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. This clarification comes amidst concerns raised by various quarters regarding the safety and security of pension funds. The Finance Minister, Wale Edun addressed the issue, stating, “The pension industry, like most financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.” He...

US. Wisconsin pension fund now includes bitcoin

BY RICH KREMER   Wisconsin’s pension fund has added bitcoin to its balance sheets, buying more than $160 million worth of shares in two newly approved funds earlier this year. U.S. Securities and Exchange filings from the State of Wisconsin Investment Board show that between Jan. 1 and March 31, it bought just more than $99 million worth of shares in a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, or ETF, from investment juggernaut Blackrock. The Investment Board, known as SWIB, also bought about $64 million worth of another...

México. Afores invertirán en pymes bajo ciertas reglas

Las Afores sí van a invertir en pequeñas y medianas empresas (pymes) como se propone en la nueva Ley del Mercado de Valores (LMV), pero será a través de vehículos de inversión y bajo ciertos criterios, como tener al menos cinco años de operación. Así lo aseguró Jorge Sánchez Tello, presidente Técnico de la Asociación Mexicana de Administradoras de Fondos para el Retiro (Amafore), tras aclarar que las medidas que han solicitado las Afores a las autoridades buscan mitigar los...

Perú. Dictamen de reforma no garantiza pensiones dignas

El dictamen aprobado en la Comisión de Economía ha distorsionado u omitido los pilares fundamentales necesarios para lograr una verdadera reforma del sistema previsional que incluya a los informales y garantice pensiones dignas. Así lo señaló el congresista José Luna Gálvez, quien lamentó también la celeridad en la aprobación de la propuesta, pese a que aún no se contaba con el resultado del grupo de trabajo de la comisión, presidido por el congresista Jorge Montoya, y que merecía un mayor...

Chile. Gobierno ingresa suma urgencia a reforma de pensiones y oposición acusa presión en la tramitación

La intención del Gobierno de que se vote la idea de legislar de la reforma de pensiones durante este mes fue reforzada este miércoles a través de la táctica legislativa. El Ejecutivo puso suma urgencia a la iniciativa con el fin de acelerar su tramitación en la comisión de Trabajo y Previsión Social del Senado, instancia en la que hace algunos días se logró establecer entre el Gobierno y los cinco senadores que la componen, un cronograma de seis temáticas...

Panamá. CSS inyectará más de $528,2 millones al IVM

Un total de $528,2 millones transferirá al Fondo de Invalidez, Vejez y Muerte (IVM) la actual administración de la Caja de Seguro Social (CSS), al término de su gestión. Hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2022, el Programa de Gestión Administrativa generó un superávit de $620,3 millones, de los cuales $465,2 millones fueron transferidos al subsistema exclusivo de beneficio definido del IVM, explicó el director ejecutivo nacional de Finanzas, Félix Camargo. Añadió que se espera que los estados financieros de 2023...

U.K. needs more favorable policies to retain leading status in sustainable finance — UKSIF report

After years of being a trailblazer in sustainable finance, the U.K.’s position is under threat amid stalled policy and a lack of certainty over regulation. Research by the U.K. Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, known as UKSIF, showed that more favorable policies could see up to £100 billion ($125.5 billion) in assets shifting into U.K. sustainable finance. The U.K. remains the top market for sustainable finance activity among 83% of those surveyed — but a clear direction of travel away...

S. Korea’s retirement pension funds post double-digit growth in 2023

South Korea's retirement pension funds posted a double-digit growth last year amid the higher return on investment, government data showed Thursday. Corporate retirement pension funds under management grew 13.8 percent over the year to 382.4 trillion won (283.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, according to joint data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. For the past five years, the retirement pension funds doubled from 190 trillion won (141.1 billion dollars) in 2018. The funds' annual...