November 2021
30Nov

UK government floats plan to relax fee limit on pension fund investments

A fee limit protecting UK retirement savers from high charges is poised to be loosened further under proposals aimed at prompting pension funds to put billions of pounds into unlisted investments like private equity. On Tuesday the government will announce plans to allow “well-designed” performance fees, typically levied by private equity and venture capital managers, to be excluded from a workplace pension fee cap, according to details of the proposal seen by the Financial Times. These fees are currently included in...

November 30, 2021
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30Nov

US. The Importance of Good Data for DB Plan PRT Activities

It’s important for plan sponsors to have clean data on defined benefit (DB) plan participants to help them identify and validate deaths, locate participants and beneficiaries, and manage uncashed checks, according to speakers at a webinar, “The Data Dilemma: The Impact Bad Data Has on a Pension Plan,” presented by Pension Benefit Information (PBI) Research Services and DIETRICH. Mike Irey, director of operations at PBI Research, told webinar attendees that plans can have inaccurate or missing personal identifiable information (PII)...

November 30, 2021
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29Nov

US. SEC guidance opens the door for more ESG proxy proposal

More shareholder proposals with a focus on environmental and social issues are likely to make it onto company proxy statements in 2022, thanks to new Securities and Exchange Commission guidance, sources said. In a legal bulletin published Nov. 3, the SEC's division of corporation finance rescinded its last three legal bulletins — promulgated under the Trump administration — related to Exchange Act Rule 14a-8, that concern shareholder proposals. The latest bulletin also outlined changes in the division's views on what...

November 29, 2021
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29Nov

Spain. Inflation At 5.6% Forces Pensions Up By 2.5%

Inflation rose by 5.6% in November compared to last year, two tenths of a percentage point higher than in October, and its highest level since September 1992. The preliminary data, published on Monday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), mark new annual highs for inflation in Spain, which has risen without interruption since March. The agency blames the rise on increases in food prices and, to a lesser extent, in fuel and lubricants for vehicles. On a more positive...

November 29, 2021
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29Nov

Here Are The Regulatory Changes In The Kenyan Pensions Industry

As of the end of 2020, the pension industry ranked second as the most preferred mode of saving with assets worth 1.4 trillion shillings after bank deposits at 4.0 trillion shillings. The graph below highlights the sizes of different saving channels and capital market products in Kenya as of December 2020: Despite the historical growth, there is still room for improvement given that the Kenyan Pension Schemes’ AUM was equivalent to 13.3 percent of the country’s GDP in 2020. Compared to other...

November 29, 2021
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29Nov

Chinese government push for better maternity leave met with shrugs or concerns it will promote discrimination against women

A dozen regional governments in China have lengthened maternity leave allowances in the past month to incentivise families to have more children amid concerns of an impending demographic crisis. However, many people questioned whether the policies would make any difference in China’s collapsing birth rate and pointed out that it could increase discrimination against women in the workforce. Some rule changes allow women to more than double their maternity leave, while others are making policies that increase maternity perks as families...

November 29, 2021
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29Nov

New EU rules pose problems for institutions

European asset owners and money managers expect to be challenged when it comes to aligning their investment strategies with the new European Union sustainable finance rules that go into effect in 2022 as regulatory requirements appear inconsistent. That's because investors and fund managers are still having to source the data to determine the environmental impact of their portfolio companies so they can disclose the degree to which their holdings — and therefore their portfolios — contribute to a carbon-intense economy. They...

November 29, 2021
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26Nov

UK. Personal pension providers told to warn of inflation risks

Personal pension providers are to be required to send inflation warnings to customers holding large amounts of cash in their funds, under new proposals unveiled by the regulator. In a move aimed at the fast-growing personal pensions market, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is forcing providers to do more to help unadvised customers make better investment decisions. About 125,000 people who do not have the help of an adviser are opening non-workplace pensions every year. These schemes mainly comprise personal pensions...

November 26, 2021
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26Nov

Brazilian bill seeks to make infrastructure bonds appealing to global pension funds

Stakeholders in Brazil’s infrastructure sector are hoping for the senate to approve a bill that extends tax breaks on infrastructure debentures, in order to attract global players to invest in financing long-term projects. The country's lower house approved the bill in July and it is now being considered by the upper house. "We’re carrying out several bidding processes that can’t be financed solely with bank financing. We’ll need deep engagement from the capital market, and infrastructure debentures will play a key...

November 26, 2021
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India's fertility rate falls below replacement level. What it means.
26Nov

India’s fertility rate falls below replacement level. What it means.

India's national Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has fallen below 2.0 for the first time, as per the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The findings covered 11 states and three union territories that were not included in the first set of data released in December 2020. The latest set of findings of the NFHS 2019-21 survey released by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday revealed that the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime has dropped...

November 26, 2021
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