February 2023
14Feb

US. Are Pensions the Answer to the Public-Sector Worker Shortage?

It’s widely known that state and local governments are struggling to recruit and retain workers. In Maryland, there are about 6,000 job postings available. And in Wayne County, Michigan, another approximately 1,000 jobs are available. These mounting vacancies can threaten the continuity of vital public services in public safety, education and transportation.   But as the number of layoff announcements in the private sector increase and a record number of Americans withdraw funds from their 401(k)s as a result of financial...

February 14, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
14Feb

South Korea. Busan turns to attracting crypto to tackle its ageing population

A catastrophic period for cryptocurrency is not stopping South Korea’s second-largest city from betting that digital money will solve a major problem: having one of the greyest populations in one of the world’s fastest-ageing nations. Busan, a port on the south-eastern coast of the Korean peninsula, is seeking to become a global cryptocurrency hub because its planners believe that embracing virtual tokens will bring more young people to its streets. It is setting up a publicly run exchange for digital...

February 14, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
13Feb

US. Attention to ESG grew in 2022 along with headwinds

It is tricky to say which was a more volatile issue in 2022 for public pension funds operating under ESG principles — the politics or the markets. They managed to navigate both, and this year many of them are even ratcheting up their sustainable investing agendas. Some, like the $61.4 billion Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, Baltimore, took a page from the largest U.S. funds that added ESG specialists for their investment divisions. Although Maryland CIO Andrew Palmer first formed...

February 13, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
13Feb

UK. FCA places restrictions on IFA over misappropriation of client funds

The Financial Conduct Authority has placed a number of restrictions on an independent advice firm over concerns its sole director may have misappropriated 1 5mn of a client s funds Campbell & Associates, based in West Wellow, Romsey, had the restrictions imposed on it last week (February 9), and is now prevented from carrying out any regulated activity and cannot reduce the value of its assets without the FCA’s consent. Lisa Maureen Campbell is listed as the sole active director of...

February 13, 2023
News,
Read more...
13Feb

China. Legislative steps being taken to protect elderly

China's legislature has accelerated the creation of legislation aimed at the elderly over the past few years in a bid to bolster protection and respond to a rapidly aging population. The latest National Bureau of Statistics data showed that by the end of last year, China's population aged 60 and above exceeded 280 million, making up 19.8 percent of the national total. The National Health Commission estimates that this figure will grow to over 400 million by 2035, accounting for more...

February 13, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
13Feb

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis leaves elderly homeless and penniless

When Kiri Banda retired from his job as a cook in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, he hoped for a peaceful old age living with his son. But with his medical bills straining household finances last year, he decided it was time to move out. “I didn’t want to be a burden,” says Banda, who spends his days begging or searching for food and sleeps on a bench in a public park. It is an increasingly common sight since Sri Lanka...

February 13, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
10Feb

Pension fund investors back climate risk lawsuit against Shell

Pension funds in the U.K. and Europe are backing a novel lawsuit against Shell PLC alleging that its directors breached their legal duties by failing to manage climate risk or plan for the energy transition. The lawsuit filed in the High Court of England and Wales Thursday by non-profit organization ClientEarth, a minor Shell shareholder, has the backing of institutional investors with a collective £450 billion ($550 billion) in assets and more than 12 million shares in the energy company. The...

February 10, 2023
News,
Read more...
10Feb

Kenya. Pensions Department To Fast-Track Processing Of Pensions

Retiring public servants will receive their pension within 90 days after exiting from service if a plan by the Pensions Department in the Treasury and Planning Ministry to fast-track the processing of pension materializes. Already, the department has deployed its officers at the Teachers Service Commission and Vigilance House to help process pension for retiring teachers and police officers and the same is expected to be replicated at the Headquarters of all ministries, officials have said. This, the officials said, will...

February 10, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
10Feb

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board returns net 1.9% in latest quarter

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board returned a net 1.9% in the third quarter of fiscal 2023 ended Dec. 31, the Toronto-based board announced in a news release Thursday. For the five-year and 10-year periods through Dec. 31, the fund delivered annualized net returns of 8.1% and 10%, respectively. Neither benchmark returns nor returns for individual asset classes are not provided in quarterly returns. CPPIB, which manages the assets of the Canada Pension Plan, also said the pension fund's net assets increased to...

February 10, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
09Feb

UK MPs and peers find HSBC complicit in Hong Kong human rights abuses

HSBC is complicit in human rights abuses against Hong Kong residents by siding with Chinese authorities and denying pension payouts to those who fled the authoritarian crackdown, an inquiry by peers and MPs has concluded. The report by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on Hong Kong took issue with the fact that banks including HSBC – which help to manage the compulsory pension fund that all residents pay into – have bowed to local authorities and refused to recognise the...

February 9, 2023
News,
Read more...