February 2023
01Feb

Norway’s gigantic sovereign wealth fund loses a record $164 billion, citing ‘very unusual’ year

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund on Tuesday reported a record loss of 1.64 trillion Norwegian kroner ($164 billion) for the whole of 2022, citing “very unusual” market conditions. The so-called Government Pension Fund Global, among the world’s largest investors, returned -14.1% last year, which it said was 0.88 percentage points better than the return on its benchmark index. “The market was impacted by war in Europe, high inflation, and rising interest rates. This negatively impacted both the equity market and bond market...

February 1, 2023
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01Feb

Longevity investment hits $5.2bn globally in 2022

Industry analysts at Longevity.Technology today published the 2022 Annual Longevity Investment Report – a full-year report on the state of investment in the longevity sector. The report analyses the companies and investors behind technologies designed to extend the number of years people live in good health. A total of $5.2bn was invested into 130 deals in 2022. While this was down 15% from $6.2bn (190 deals) in 2021 – a breakout year for longevity investing, it was up 77% from...

February 1, 2023
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01Feb

How Fintech And Blockchain Are Evolving And Disrupting Financial Institutions

Blockchain technology is disrupting financial institutions in radical new ways. Rather than replacing what already exists, it creates an entirely new market and an avenue to bank the unbanked. Blockchain is creating new financial solutions that scale faster and are cheaper, more secure and more accessible to even ordinary men on the street. It has removed the barriers to enjoying financial services, enforced security, removed middlemen and enhanced transparency. Once touted by investors as worthless and called unprintable names by traditional...

February 1, 2023
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January 2023
31Jan

France faces second wave of strikes in protest against pension reform

France is bracing for another day of mass protests and strikes on Tuesday over proposed pension reforms championed by President Emmanuel Macron. The government and the political opposition continue to trade blame for the expected disruption in schools, the fuel distribution sector and public transport. An estimated 1.1 million people took to the streets for the first strike day on 19 January, according to official statistics. That was the biggest demonstration since the last major round of pension reform under...

January 31, 2023
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31Jan

Push into illiquid assets exposes UK pension savers to higher fees

The UK government will relax rules shielding tens of millions of UK retirement savers from high charges as it aims to channel billions of pounds of pension fund cash into longer-term investments such as start-ups and infrastructure. The government on Monday confirmed plans to exempt performance fees from an annual 0.75 per cent cap on annual charges that can be levied on auto-enrolled pension savers. The cap has long been seen by the industry as a barrier for many “defined...

January 31, 2023
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31Jan

US. SECURE 2.0 to expand auto enrollment

A new law will expand automatic enrollment to all newly formed 401(k) and 403(b) plans, which experts say could significantly boost enrollment in retirement plans. The provision is one of more than 90 in the retirement security package, known as SECURE 2.0, which passed Congress in December and will change the future of the retirement landscape in a myriad of ways. Starting in 2025, all new 401(k) and 403(b) plans will be required to automatically enroll new employees in their plan,...

January 31, 2023
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31Jan

UK. Government explores CDC decumulation schemes

The government published a consultation on introducing a route to CDC for multi-employer schemes and master trusts on January 30, after legislation creating these schemes was introduced in 2022. Under these arrangements, employers and employees pay a fixed rate of contributions, collected in a manner similar to DC schemes. Benefits are paid with a target in mind, similar to defined benefit schemes, but with the prospect of variable increases — and the possibility of decreases. However, besides interest in whole-life CDC schemes...

January 31, 2023
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30Jan

New York State common allocates 11 Billion alternatives

New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, disclosed just over $1.1 billion in new commitments completed in December, a transaction report on its website shows. Within private equity, the $233.2 billion pension fund committed $350 million to Apollo Investment Fund X, a buyout fund managed by Apollo Global Management, and $300 million to Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners XI, also a buyout fund. The pension fund also disclosed two commitments to funds managed by KSL Capital Partners: $300 million to real...

January 30, 2023
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30Jan

French PM says pension age hike ‘non-negotiable’ as strikes loom  

Demonstrators hold flares during a procession against a pension reform in Paris, on January 26, 2023. France’s prime minister on Sunday ruled out backtracking on a plan to raise the retirement age as unions prepared for another day of mass protests and strikes against the contested reform. An increase in the minimum retirement age to 64 from the current 62 is part of a flagship reform package pushed by President Emmanuel Macron to ensure the future financing of France’s pensions system. After...

January 30, 2023
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30Jan

Concern as millions with no savings in Kenya face old age poverty

About 13.9 million Kenyans have no form of retirement savings scheme, and the majority of them are in the informal sector. According to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), there were about 17.4 million people in the formal and informal sectors as of the year 2020.“The labour market is skewed towards informal employment at 83 per cent. This is a time bomb and indicating that most Kenyans will retire poor,” the report notes. The report was presented during...

January 30, 2023
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