September 2018

18Sep

US 401(k) Plan Quality Correlates With Company Profits

Study finds companies with highly rated plans have gross profit margins well above average Companies with top-rated 401(k) retirement plans tend to be more profitable than those with low-rated plans. That is the conclusion of a new study from T. Rowe Price Group Inc., which found there is “a strong correlation between corporate financial performance and overall 401(k) plan quality,” said Joshua Dietch, head of the asset management firm’s retirement and financial education team. Read more WSJ

September 18, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
17Sep

Malaysia’s second largest pension fund to restructure

Malaysia’s second largest pension fund is to undergo a revamp that will include the creation of a deputy chief executive officer (CEO) position and the appointment of a new chief investment officer (CIO), according to its top executive. The move comes after CIO Nik Amlizan Mohamed recently left Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), a pension fund for civil servants, to head Malaysia’s Armed Forces Fund board. The restructuring may take “a couple of months” to complete, KWAP CEO Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad...

September 17, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
17Sep

Zimbabwe’s Insurance And Pensions Commission (IPEC) Eyes Blockchain For Solutions

The Zimbabwean Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPC) is urging local insurance companies to make use of the ever-growing blockchain technology. Most industries are facing problems that can be solved by the blockchain technology. According to IPC, the technology will offer several advantages to the sectors. Some of the benefits are that the technology will make it easier for the companies to deal with the issues of low insurance and pensions penetration. IPC’s chairlady Mrs. Lynn Mukonoweshuro suggests that financial inclusion and...

September 17, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
17Sep

Ireland. Health agencies face potential insolvency over pensions

Key health providers face possible insolvency in a dispute over pension liabilities in a confrontation that health officials warn could have adverse implications for Minister for Health Simon Harris. The State’s corporate watchdog, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, is pursuing a number of agencies that are funded by the Department of Health to provide services on behalf of the HSE over the manner in which they account for the pensions of their employees. The voluntary not-for-profit organisations –...

September 17, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
17Sep

Japan crosses new aging milestone, with 20% now 70 or older

Abe signals shift in priorities to easing labor shortages TOKYO -- As new estimates put the number of people in Japan age 70 or older at more than a fifth of the population for the first time, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is signaling a renewed focus on contending with the economic impact of an aging labor force. The 70-and-over segment of the population grew to an estimated 26.18 million, or 20.7%, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported Sunday. That marks an...

September 17, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
14Sep

US. NYC doubling pension fund dollars in ‘climate solutions’

New York City plans to double the share of its pension fund invested in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other industries that aim to combat global warming. Mayor Bill de Blasio and city Comptroller Scott Stringer announced the new goal Thursday. Now, about $2 billion of the city's $195 billion in pension funds is invested in what are sometimes called climate solutions. The new plan would raise that investment to $4 billion over the next three years. The mayor and comptroller, both...

September 14, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
14Sep

Australia can give pointers on pension reform to Korea

Head of investment firm says much was learned in 24 years Worries about the state pension fund have grown in Korea, as it may run out of money as Korea’s population ages. That has led many people to look for models abroad. Some are pointing to Australia’s superannuation corporate pension fund. Put simply, the superannuation system mandates an employer put aside a set portion of workers’ salary as a pension fund to be managed by a board trusted by workers. Australia is considered...

September 14, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
14Sep

British Airways discharges £4.4bn in pension liabilities

Legal & General takes over responsibilities for 22,000 pensioners as airline tries to protect itself from higher costs in future British Airways has offloaded £4.4bn in pension liabilities to an insurance company in a bid to cap its pension responsibilities. Legal & General will effectively take over the liabilities for 22,000 British Airways pensioners in the largest deal of its kind in the UK. The aim of the “bulk annuity” deal is to protect British Airways from higher pension costs in...

September 14, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...
13Sep

How can we restore trust in pensions?

Savers have long remained detached and bemused by their pension arrangements. Indeed, the success of auto-enrolment has partly depended upon consumer inertia. Platform provider Hargreaves Lansdown has identified a ‘boredom threshold’ of £5,000, the point in accumulation at which a saver’s interest in his or her pension jumps. Efforts to engage savers with their pension continue at an unrelenting pace, with the Association of British Insurers going as far as to urge young savers to ‘love your pension’ in a campaign...

September 13, 2018
News, Slider
Read more...
13Sep

Mexico. ‘It needs to be absolutely clean’: How Sergio Méndez leads Mexico’s biggest pension fund

At the helm of Mexico’s largest pension fund, Sergio Méndez faces a regulatory sea change and a volatile economic backdrop. The key is to have a flexible battle plan. Before I sat down to interview Sergio Méndez, the chief investment officer of Afore XXI Banorte, there were some topics that I was pretty certain would come up – Mexico’s changing regulatory environment, its roller coaster market ride, Donald Trump – and so I prepared accordingly. But one subject I had definitely...

September 13, 2018
News, Slider,
Read more...