July 2021
19Jul

India. PFRDA, government in talks to tweak law to cover retirement funds

The government and the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) are discussing amendments to the law to ensure the regulation of a large number of superannuation funds that currently escape the required scrutiny Although there are no official estimates, around 400-500 are seen to be “unregulated” superannuation funds, with 50-60 being large players. There are at least three regulators for the pension business, with PFRDA handling the National Pension System (NPS), while the insurance regulator deals with annuities sold...

July 19, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
19Jul

Fewer women than men will regain employment during the COVID-19 recovery says ILO

The inequalities between women and men in the world of work that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic will persist in the near future, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). A new policy brief finds there will be 13 million fewer women in employment in 2021 compared to 2019, while men’s employment will have recovered to 2019 levels. Even though the projected jobs growth in 2021 for women exceeds that of men, it will, nonetheless, be insufficient to...

July 19, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
19Jul

UK. The state pension is slated to rise by 8%, but thousands of retirees will be left out.

State pension payments may increase by 8% next year, but some retirees will be excluded from the increase. Individuals who have achieved state pension age might receive considerable financial assistance through state pension payments. Many people will have contributed a significant amount of money to the National Insurance system over the course of their lives in order to receive the largest state pension feasible. To help, the government uses a triple lock system that increases the state pension total by...

July 19, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
16Jul

Is there really an ESG bubble?

Environmental, social and governance-focused investment is on the upswing like no other investment trend. In the first half of 2021, of 80 exchange-traded funds and mutual fund launches in the UK, 37 were ESG vehicles. Of these, 19 were equity funds, 16 mixed assets, and one each for bond and alternatives (chart 1). Bonds showed rather better last year with 12 launches, but whatever the year, equity launches dominate. This compares with 207 launches in 2020, of which 59 were ESG,...

July 16, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
16Jul

Further Proof that Auto-Enrollment is Key to Saving Earlier for Retirement

If you automatically enroll them, they will save… sooner. A new survey has found the vast majority (84%) of workers that were automatically enrolled in their workplace retirement plan say they started to save for retirement sooner than if they had to take action to make the enrollment decision on their own. Read also US. Biden’s Pension Rescue Seen as Bigger Help for Corporate Bonds However, only one-third of employers currently offer automatic enrollment, and among those that do, just 21% have...

July 16, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
16Jul

UK. Pension tax change proposals branded ‘tragic’ and ‘crazy’

On the go: Rumours that the Treasury is planning to raid pensions have been branded “tragic” and “crazy” by speakers at a Hymans Robertson webinar, who warned that any reforms harming incentives to save could undo the work put in to boost retirement standards. Pensions Expert reported in June on the rumours that Treasury officials have drawn up a list of three reforms to the way pension contributions are taxed, with the aim being to find the money to pay...

July 16, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
16Jul

How geopolitics impact global public investors

In the world of institutional investing, geopolitical risk has emerged as a pressing concern. While some asset owners contend that they are fully capable of analysing and managing such risk, they appear to be in the minority. Many public investors are still largely unprepared, lacking proper analytical frameworks and relevant expertise to tackle geopolitics in a structured and rigorous way. However, there is a relatively simple and straightforward solution to this: asset owners can apply some of the same...

July 16, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
15Jul

US. How Benchmarks Keep Pension Stakeholders in the Dark

There’s no shortage of studies arguing that pension funds and endowments would have been wise to put the kibosh on their complex portfolios and opt for a simple passive strategy over the last five, 10, or 20 years. But new research from Richard Ennis, one of the founders of investment consultant EnnisKnupp, details another fault line in the argument. Benchmarks in investing, just as in sports or healthcare, are designed to measure performance, costs, risk, and other data points against peers...

July 15, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
15Jul

U.K. corporate pension fund surplus gains again in June

The total surplus of U.K. defined benefit funds covered by the Pension Protection Fund’s 7800 index increased 4.7% in June to £99 billion ($137 billion). The surplus was £94.6 billion at the end of May. A year earlier, U.K. corporate DB funds recorded a total deficit of £132.2 billion, the London-based PPF said Tuesday in an update. The PPF is the lifeboat fund for defined benefit plans of insolvent U.K. companies. The funding ratio increased to 105.8% as of June 30, up...

July 15, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
15Jul

BlackRock Closes In on the Once Unthinkable, $10 Trillion in Assets

BlackRock Inc.’s second-quarter profit rose 14% on new money coming into the giant asset manager, a sign that investors are becoming more confident about an economic recovery. Read also He runs the worst-funded public pension in the country. Here’s his ‘good news’ story The company posted a quarterly profit of $1.378 billion or $8.92 a share, up from $1.214 billion or $7.85 a share a year earlier. Its revenue grew 32% to $4.82 billion. Read also Transferring A Business Following Insolvency In...

July 15, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...