November 2020

25Nov

UK Fintech launches a self managed pension product

The UK-based commission-free trading app has launched a waitlist for its Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) product, which will cost £9.99 ($12.75) a month for basic users, or £7 ($8.93) a month for Plus members, per AltFi. Users can start investing with £2 ($2.55) and will also get a free company share ranging from £40 ($51) to over £2,000 ($2,553) in value depending on the size of their portfolio. Unlike standard personal pension schemes, where funds are managed on...

November 25, 2020
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24Nov

Australia’s Financial Firms Want to Turn Capital Markets Green

Australia’s largest financial companies are targeting net-zero emissions over the next 30 years as the global shift to a low-carbon economy gathers pace. The Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative on Tuesday released 37 recommendations to help the financial sector target climate neutrality by 2050 and ensure it remains competitive. They include setting interim carbon reduction targets when deciding lending, insurance and investments as the next decade will be critical to achieving the goal, according to the plan. The road map...

November 24, 2020
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24Nov

Sweden’s Kåpan ups green bond weighting, expands fossils strategy

Swedish government employees’ pension fund Kåpan Pensioner announced a series of environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives it has taken so far this year to up its game in sustainable investment, and said it plans to extend the scope of its fossil-fuel strategy. The SEK100bn (€9.8bn) fund also said it was increasing its mandate for green bonds, with its holdings of the environmental debt having grown in 2020, and had taken action to cut sustainability risk in its global...

November 24, 2020
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24Nov

Canada. TTC pension plan focusing on liquidity amid coronavirus pandemic

The Toronto Transit Commission Pension Fund Society has been reminded of the importance of liquidity during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Sean Hewitt, the fund’s chief executive officer, during a virtual roundtable hosted by the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute on Thursday. “COVID-19 was a really interesting test study in liquidity,” he said, noting the TTC plan conducts a liquidity budget test annually to ensure it’s able to pay pensioners under dire circumstances. The previous test case was the...

November 24, 2020
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24Nov

Lack of Financial Literacy May Deter Retirement Plan Participation

The results of a recent survey reveal that most Americans, including retirement plan participants, failed a fluency quiz of key investment selection terms, which can translate into saving less and lower use of investment products. Hearts & Wallets’ “Financial Fluency: What Consumer Understanding of the Language of Finance Means for Advice, Retirement and Asset Management” finds that only 19% of Americans achieved a passing grade when asked to choose the best answer for seven key investment selection...

November 24, 2020
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23Nov

Chile’s President Pinera seeks Constitutional Court help to head off pensions bill

Pinera said the legislation was unconstitutional since it implied a cost to the public purse that can only determined by the executive, and posed a “grave risk” to the future pensions of Chileans as well as offering another tax-free windfall to higher-income individuals who did not need it. Read also Chile’s famed pensions system faces an existential crisis “All authorities, and especially the president of the republic, have to be sensitive to the needs of citizens, and also responsible over...

November 23, 2020
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23Nov

China to introduce new policies to tackle ageing population

China is planning to include new measures to encourage more births and address issues associated with its rapidly ageing population and shrinking workforce as part of its new 2021-2025 “five-year plan”, according to state media. Read also Malaysia is ageing, raise retirement age to 65 gradually, says World Bank Citing experts, the official China Daily newspaper said on Monday that the Chinese government will offer extensive financial and policy support to encourage couples to have more children. Read also Australia’s...

November 23, 2020
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23Nov

What South Africans Need To Know About Offshore Investing

South Africans looking to make proper provision for their retirement should consider utilising their full annual foreign exchange provisions and should choose the right offshore investment options to protect themselves from a volatile economic and political environment. This is according to Sovereign Trust SA. Many South Africans still feel conflicted about investing offshore, partly because they don’t understand the differences between local and international retirement plans, said Richard Neal, MD of Sovereign Trust SA. “While offshore retirement funds, like...

November 23, 2020
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23Nov

There’s a way to fix the $4.6 trillion U.S. public pensions mess — Canada shows us how

In Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises,” Mike is asked how he went bankrupt. His reply: “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” He might as well be describing the prognosis for many of the nation’s 5,300 public pension funds, which hold $4.4 trillion in assets against what the Federal Reserve estimates to be $9 trillion in liabilities. Most U.S. public pensions plans were in surplus in 2000. Today, based on their own accounting – which differs from that of the...

November 23, 2020
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20Nov

UK pension funds urged to step up infrastructure investing to boost long-term economic sustainability

A recent report by PwC found that the UK will need to increase infrastructure spending to GBP40 billion a year, double the current level, in order to reach its target of net zero by 2050. “In the UK, investment in infrastructure by long-term investors is minuscule,” said Nick Silver, co-founder of the Climate Bonds Initiative, at the World Pensions Council event. Pension funds allocate on a risk-return basis, and have historically shown a strong preference for liquidity – leading...

November 20, 2020
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