January 2021
04Jan

China faces its biggest transformation to date

An ageing population, overreliance on investment and the shifting geopolitical landscape are key challenges as the Asian giant shifts gears, says David Dollar. China’s well-known story of spectacular growth, at around 10 per cent annually for 40 years, is coming to an end because of both domestic and global factors. In analysing China’s prospects for the next several decades, three particular challenges are striking: The shift from a labour-surplus to a labour-scarce society; the shift from investment to innovation as the...

January 4, 2021
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December 2020

31Dec

China orders Alibaba founder Jack Ma to pare down fintech empire

By Rupert Neate China has escalated its campaign to rein in the vast tech empire controlled by Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba and one of the country’s richest people. Authorities in Beijing, who had on Christmas Eve ordered an investigation into allegations of “monopolistic practices” by Ma’s online retail giant, have now ordered his financial technology company Ant Group to scale back its operations. Pan Gongsheng, a deputy governor of China’s central bank, said Ant’s corporate governance was “not...

December 31, 2020
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21Dec

US. Retirement taxes are not more tolerable

By Helen Hills I was happy to see Charles Lane’s commentary on Bob Dylan’s tax-privileged windfall upon the sale of his vast musical intellectual property [“Bob Dylan’s financial dream,” op-ed, Dec. 15]. Mr. Lane did not mention, in his otherwise-thorough critique of the disparate tax treatment of income and capital gains, the “wool-over-the-eyes” deception that was mounted in the form of 401(k), individual retirement accounts and other market-based employee retirement accounts. Corporate interests benefited when the responsibility and risk...

December 21, 2020
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16Dec

Canada’s Largest Pension Says Inflation Could Rise in Rebound

By Paula Sambo Canada’s largest pension fund says policy measures across the globe to address the Covid-19 pandemic could fuel inflation after years of under-inflation while also spurring a rebound in employment and business investment. “We’re keeping an eye on this because central banks have adjusted frameworks,” Mark Machin, chief executive officer of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said in an interview Tuesday. “There is also the risk of a wall of money in savings accounts -- $13 trillion...

December 16, 2020
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15Dec

Chile’s Great Pension Raid

By Andrés Velasco Because the policies they produce are so ludicrous, populist cycles eventually crash against reality and come to an end. Sadly, for too many Chileans, the crash may come when they reach old age with no retirement savings. How should families pay for the costs of the pandemic? The conservative government’s finance minister proposes that the state should help.Thanks but no thanks, retort members of the country’s congress. Families can use their own accumulated pension savings, and the...

December 15, 2020
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10Dec

South Africa. Sustainability should be paramount in pension fund investment

By Adam Bennot There is little point in making provision for a comfortable retirement if the society and environment in which you live is untenable. Nor will you actually have a decent pension if the retirement industry doesn't make sustainable investments with positive social and environmental impacts. The two are inextricably linked. From a public policy perspective, many stakeholders believe that impact investing can provide a public good, particularly in areas where the government lacks the resources. For pension fund...

December 10, 2020
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September 2020

18Sep

COVID-19 and pensions in Latin America

By Ernesto Brodersohn In the last 2020 edition of “G7 Pensions LT Investment Summit. Modern Asset Allocation, ESG & Inclusive Growth” I was invited to deliver some remarks on the current situation of Pension Systems in Latin America in the juncture with the health and economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. This sparked a quick updated stocktaking over the latest responses that different jurisdictions have been applying to pension schemes throughout the region. Over the past couple of months pension systems...

September 18, 2020
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14Sep

US. How the Secure Act Could Affect Retirement Savers

In December 2019, the federal government passed into law a set of reforms designed to help Americans achieve retirement security The legislation—known as the Secure Act—broadens access to tax-advantaged retirement-savings accounts and lets Americans keep money in such accounts longer, among other things. In recent months, worries about Americans’ retirement security have been heightened by the coronavirus pandemic. The mass unemployment caused by Covid-19 is a reminder of why people need retirement savings in the first place. So how...

September 14, 2020
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June 2020
18Jun

US. Trump SEC Chairman Urges 401ks To Gamble Away Coronavirus Losses

By Edward Siedle Trump SEC Chairman Jay Clayton urges 401k plan sponsors and investors to gamble on private equity funds as a means of recovering coronavirus losses. Since when is it the job of the Chairman of the world’s premier securities regulator to encourage reckless risk-taking by American workers already reeling from pandemic losses? Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor opened the door for plan sponsors to add private equity funds to their 401(k) plans. The Trump administration claims...

June 18, 2020
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02Jun

Japan. Relieve non-regular workers’ anxiety through reform of pension system

By The Japan News Editorial There is great significance in improving the foundation of the quality of life in old age for part-timers and other non-regular workers. Laws related to pension system reform have been passed. The range of people eligible for employee pensions will be expanded to include short-term workers from companies with fewer employees. Read also India. Modifications in National Pension Scheme financially untenable: Finance Ministry Currently, companies are required to join the employee pension program if they meet the...

June 2, 2020
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