December 2023

AI and pension funds: Is AI a safe bet for retirement investment?

Pension funds are in a perpetual crisis worldwide, with low demographic rates in many countries foreshadowing a dim future for such investments, combined with young people’s lack of faith in the continued existence of social security models. In order to stay afloat, many pension funds have strived to remain apprised of new investment opportunities, including cryptocurrencies. According to a 2022 study published by the CFA Institute, “94% of state and government-sponsored pension funds are invested in one or more cryptocurrencies.” But pension fund...

Insurance and pension fund ownership of UK shares drops to record low

The proportion of UK quoted shares held by pension and insurance funds dropped to the lowest on record in 2022, latest data from the Office for National Statistics reveals. The statistics agency's biennial bulletin - published today (4 December) - showed the proportion of UK quoted shares owned by the two sectors fell to 4.2% in 2022, down from 4.3% in 2020 and 6.1% in 2018, and a stark contrast to the position in 1991 when pension funds and insurers...

US. Santos-inspired bill would ban pensions for expelled lawmakers

A House Republican on Monday introduced legislation barring lawmakers who are expelled from Congress from receiving congressional pensions. Why it matters: It's a direct response to the House's expulsion last week of then-Rep. George Santos, who was accused of plundering his congressional campaign coffers to personally enrich himself. Driving the news: Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) announced the Congressional Pension Accountability Act at a press conference on Monday morning. Nunn was among the more than 100 Republicans who voted to expel Santos following the release of...

Yet another twist for South Africa’s new pension system

The standing committee on Finance has once again changed the implementation date of the two-pot retirement system. In the new retirement system, up to one-third of all retirement savings will be placed into a “savings pot”, which will be accessible before retirement. A minimum of two-thirds of a pension fund will then be placed into a “retirement fund”, which can only be accessible at retirement. This is designed to ensure that South Africans can access some funds in case of emergency while...

The World’s Shrinking Birth Rate

Vox online reports that in the US, the birth rate has dropped almost twenty-three percent in the last fifteen years. Today, the average American woman has about one point six children, down from three in nineteen fifty, and significantly below the “replacement rate” of two point one children needed to sustain a stable population. In Italy, twelve people now die for every seven babies born. In South Korea, the birth rate is down to less than one child per...

The Largest U.S. Pension Fund Just Rolled Out A Climate Transition Plan Focused On Risk And Opportunity

There are times when an established company, an investor, a startup makes a move that is so strategic—so in tune with the risks and the opportunities of the moment—that it marks the shift between the market’s past and its future. We recently witnessed that moment. In a bold step tailored to meet the existential challenges and colossal financial risks of a warming climate and harness the massive opportunities of the shift to a new clean economy, California Public Employees' Retirement System...

Almost a third of UK adults unaware of old pension pots

Almost a third of adults in the UK suspect that they may have a pension pot that they are either unaware of or have not considered before. Research carried out by Opinium for the fintech company Gretel found that 30 per cent of respondents believe they may be in the dark about some of their pension savings. Almost three in 10 UK adults also believe they have at least one lost or dormant investment vehicle, bank account, child trust fund or...

Dutch pension fund PMT sells most fossil fuel holdings

Pensioenfonds Metaal & Techniek (PMT) has divested from 40 oil and gas companies, but remains invested in nine companies with “sufficiently convincing plans” for the energy transition and carbon reduction. All of the retained companies are headquartered in Europe. Over the past two years, the pension fund had asked all companies in the oil and gas sector in which it invests to commit to the Paris Agreement and set sufficiently ambitious and substantiated CO2 reduction targets. Forty of those companies could not meet...

Australia pension funds call for reforms to encourage green energy investment at home

Australian pension funds called on Friday for the government to enact reforms that would make it easier to invest in domestic renewable energy projects and warned that without action investors would opt for more compelling overseas projects. Australia's electricity transmission network, batteries and sustainable aviation fuel are three areas where simplified planning, subsidised finance and other regulatory changes could catalyse investment, according to a report released by eight major pension funds. Changes could quickly unlock A$4 billion ($2.7 billion) worth of...

Nordic pension funds invest more in UK start-ups than British counterparts

Nordic pension funds are now investing more in UK start-ups than their British counterparts, research by Atomico has found. As reported by our sister title, European Pensions, the State of European Tech report found that pension funds from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden collectively contribute USD 88m to UK start-ups, compared to USD 49m from the UK and Ireland combined. In addition, the report found that generally UK pension funds only represent 5 per cent of funds committed to venture...