May 2019

28May

UK: Pensions Ombudsman Finds Pensions Trustees Personally Liable For Investment Losses

The Pensions Ombudsman has found two trustees personally liable to account for over £2.4 million of investment losses to a pension scheme. With exoneration clauses common in trust deed and rules, it is rare for trustees to be personally liable for breaches of duty. The facts are also unusual with the Scheme invested in high risk investments and it is unlikely to be a situation replicated often (if at all), but this case is a reminder that trustees cannot...

May 28, 2019
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28May

Pension pressures: The future of Australia’s key seniors’ payment

Australia’s age pension appears under increasing pressure. Seniors are living for longer while the workforce that pays the taxes that help fund pensions is a shrinking proportion of the population. It might worry people that the money tap will run dry, but finance specialists say the future of this vital government payment looks safe. They say the growing size of superannuation nest eggs will continue to ease the strain on the public purse, and future governments still have plenty...

May 28, 2019
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28May

AmInvest named Malaysia’s best pension fund manager

AmInvestment Bank’s fund management arm, AmInvest was named Malaysia’s Best Pension Fund Manager by Asia Asset Management, an Asian asset management publication based in Hong Kong. The selection was made after a three-year and five assessment period of AmInvest’s management performance for its domestic pension mandates and Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) fund, the size of these mandates and returns against relevant benchmarks, as well as investor education initiatives undertaken. “Our ability to understand and anticipate the ever-changing market environment...

May 28, 2019
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27May

The End Of Risk-Free Retirement

Saving money for retirement has never been easy for the average worker, but at least it was feasible. Until 2000 or so, it was a simple matter to put all your savings in CDs, Treasury bonds, or tax-free muni bonds and generate a steady income. Better yet, you could do this with no risk, just by keeping your money in FDIC-insured banks. This is not possible today due to low rates. Neither you nor a massive pension plan acting...

May 27, 2019
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27May

Nigeria. PenCom Invests N8.744tn Pension Assets in 24 Asset Classes

The National Pension Commission (PenCom), said it invested the accumulated N8.744 trillion pension assets in 24 different asset classes with federal government securities taking the lion share of 72.91 per cent of the total funds. A breakdown of this showed that federal government bonds which got 51.29 per cent share and investment in treasury bills got 20.40 per cent. PenCom, in a recent publication on its website stated that as at January 31,2019, other asset classes in...

May 27, 2019
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27May

Alternative risk premia breaks through in Asia

Until recently, fund managers in Asia that talked about alternative risk premia (ARP) spoke mostly about Japan and Australia, rarely about the rest of the region and almost never about China. There, any such plans were usually described as work in progress. That began to change last year, with fund houses such as Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) launching in the sector. There have been some wobbles in the performance of ARP globally, but approaching the...

May 27, 2019
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24May

US. House passes SECURE retirement bill with massive bipartisan support

The House of Representatives passed a sweeping retirement bill Thursday that makes it easier for small businesses to offer a workplace retirement plan, eases use of annuities in 401(k)s and raises the required minimum distribution age, among other changes. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, passed the House on a 417-3 vote and now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass by the end of the current legislative session. If the bill becomes...

May 24, 2019
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24May

How quickly should new graduates start saving for retirement

Young adults have at least one thing working in their financial favor: time. Older adults who are faced with delaying retirement longer than they wish often confide in me that, if they could tell their younger self one thing, it would be to start saving for retirement as soon as possible. But the slow and tedious process of saving can be a hard sell for young adults. It’s especially difficult for those coming out of college with large student...

May 24, 2019
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24May

Icelandic pension funds and Bristish fund buy geothermal firm HS Orka

As reported this morning in Iceland, Jardvarmur slhf, a company jointly owned by 14 pension funds in Iceland, has decided to exercise its pre-emptive right in the only private power company in Iceland, HS Orka for the 54 per cent stake sold by Canadian energy company Innergex in HS Orka. In the sale process, a fund by Australian investment bank Macquarie put in the winning offer in Magma Energy Sweden A.B, which holds the the 54 stake in HS...

May 24, 2019
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23May

Japan’s Financial Services Agency calls for financial products that focus on longevity risk

The Financial Services Agency has released a draft report calling for financial products that focus on longevity risk, or when people’s funds for living expenses run short due to a rise in longevity. The draft includes plans for the agency to urge financial institutions to expand their ranges of financial products and services that respond to an aging society. It also noted the need for services that preserve assets for when people’s cognitive functions deteriorate. The document was presented...

May 23, 2019
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