May 2021

Dutch manager APG forms joint venture to help ABP invest in Chilean forests

Dutch pensions provider APG formed a joint venture on behalf of its largest pension fund client to invest in forests in Chile. On behalf of the €495.3 billion ($601.5 billion) ABP, Heerlen, Netherlands, APG formed the company with British Columbia Investment Management Corp. and South American investment bank BTG Pactual's timber investment group. BCI has C$171.3 billion ($141.4 billion) in AUM. The new venture will invest $385.5 million in forestry in Chile, owning more than 80,000 hectares of Chilean forest across...

Ireland. Bringing order to a fragmented pensions landscape

The transposition into Irish law of the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) II directive at the end of April represented a game changing event for Irish pensions, says PwC pensions partner Munro O’Dwyer. Ireland has more than 100,000 pension schemes, the majority of them one-person arrangements, and the net effect of the new rules could be to reduce that number to less than 200. That rationalisation will be prompted by the increased regulatory obligations and costs imposed on pension schemes. IORP...

UK. One in five savers have three or more pensions

One in five savers in the UK have three or more pension pots, while almost half (47 per cent) have two or more, according to research commissioned by Hargreaves Lansdown. The study, conducted by Opinium, also found that less than a quarter (24 per cent) had ever transferred a pension. Men were more likely to have transferred a pension, with 26 per cent of male respondents having done so, compared to 22 per cent of women. However, Hargreaves Lansdown noted that it...

Bulgaria. Average Salary shows significant growth and pensions with it

The average salary registered over 10 percent growth year-on- year.On the other hand, the share of remuneration from work in the overall household budgets has shrunk, while the share of incomes from pensions and social benefits has grown. Despite the reported growth of the average salary up to BGN 1,500, this does not apply to all sectors of the economy. Traditionally, the highest incomes are in the information and communication technologies and in the health sphere - due to the...

UK. Top British companies forced to pump £200bn into pension schemes to prop them up, figures reveal

Top British companies have been forced to pump £200billion into their pension schemes to avoid a drop in funding, figures reveal. Read also UK pension asset owners join Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance Law firm Lane Clark & Peacock said the sum – equivalent to the economic output of Czechia – was needed to counter tumbling share prices and bond yields. Read also UK. One in five savers have three or more pensions It warned that firms were 'running just to stand still' and that...

Japan’s Number Two Pension Fund to Post Best Returns in 20 Years

Japan’s second-largest pension fund said it expects to post the best returns since 2001 on the back of the global equity market’s rally and is looking to expand sustainable investing. Returns likely exceeded 20% in the the year ended March, said Shigemune Sato, the director-general of the fund management department at the Pension Fund Association for Local Government Officials. The fund, known as Chikyoren, tracks the portfolio of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest pension pot, and is...

US. Biden orders federal climate-risk financial strategy, with implications for homeowners, pensions and government contracts

President directs agencies to analyze and mitigate the risk climate change poses to the financial system, and he’ll use the findings in the budget process. President Joe Biden is mandating a federal government strategy to quantify climate-change risks to public and private financial assets. Banking, housing and agriculture regulators are among those who will be asked to use climate risk in their supervision of major industries, including the lending of federal funds and decisions on federal contracts. Some Department of Labor-regulated...

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board eyes assets in shift to clean energy

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is hunting for investments in the world’s transition to renewable energy as it aspires to be a global leader in sustainability, the head of the company told Reuters on Thursday. “One of the keys here is investing in the transition with a view that for the world to transition to a zero carbon world, many of the existing conventional players are going to be leaders in the future,” John Graham, president and chief...

African Demographics Changing Rapidly, Forcing To Re-Think Pensions

Africa has long been known for its youthful population, and while the continent will continue to have the largest youth cohort in the world, they’ll live longer than their forebearers, according to the latest Bright Africa pensions research from RisCura, a global investment firm. Read also Investing in an Ageing Population The research shows that longevity expectations have changed dramatically, thanks to better nutrition, medical advances and overall improvements in the general standard of living. Read also Shock retirement numbers for South...

Pensions in Germany to rise by average of 5 percent next year

After seeing their benefits stagnate in 2021 due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, pensioners in Germany can look forward to an increase next year. The government is also changing the way benefits are calculated, which could mean a permanent increase for pensions in Germany. More money in German pensioners’ pockets Every year, the German federal government makes a so-called pension adjustment (Rentenanpassung), based on the development of salaries in the previous year. A few weeks ago it was...