February 2020

18Feb

11 African fintech startups selected for CATAPULT programme

Eleven African fintech startups have been selected to take part in the 2020 edition of CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa, which helps companies focusing on financial inclusion to scale. Building on the success of its 2018 edition, CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa is developed by the LHoFT Foundation and targets companies focusing on financial inclusion in Africa. It aims to build bridges between Africa and Europe. It provides selected startups with access to a tailor made program with intensive mentoring, coaching, peer-to-peer learning...

February 18, 2020
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17Feb

Ireland. Community employment workers strike over pensions

Hundreds of community employment scheme supervisors staged a strike over pensions in Dublin yesterday. So-called section 39 workers, whose pay was cut during the recession and was never restored, also joined the protest. Also Read Staff in 74 UK universities start 2-week strike over pensions These are people who work for organisations providing health and social services which are known as section 39 bodies. Community employment (CE) scheme employees and supervisors marched from the Custom House in Dublin to the...

February 17, 2020
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17Feb

‘India is ageing much faster than previously thought’

“India is ageing much faster than previously thought and is expected to have nearly 20% population of the world’s 60 years and above by 2050 with the largest number of older adults in the world,” said Prasun Chatterjee, Department of Geriatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Speaking about his new book — Health and Well Being in Late Life — Dr. Chatterjee said: “Through my book, I have tried to help people look at this tremendous growth...

February 17, 2020
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17Feb

World’s Largest Pension Fund Marches Toward $2 Trillion in Assets, While Embracing ESG

Government Pension Investment Fund Japan (GPIF) is the world’s largest pension fund at US$ 1.6 trillion. It has reported Q3 2019 earnings. GPIF earned a profit of US$ 67 billion in Q3. GPIF’s return on assets was 4.6% in the same period. The Nikkei climbed over 8% and The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached above 7% in the third quarter, helping to boost GPIF’s numbers. GPIF managed to outperform the benchmarks, pulling in 8.6% from Japanese companies and 9.7%...

February 17, 2020
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14Feb

Asia Hedge Funds Brace for Lean Times as Investors Stay Away

Asia-based hedge funds are bracing for a lean quarter of capital raising as the spread of the coronavirus leads to the postponement and cancellation of key events that have historically drawn Western investors to the region. London-headquartered Albourne Partners Ltd., a consultancy that advises pensions, university endowments and foundations that invest a combined $550 billion in alternative investments, including hedge funds, said it’s seen at least 10 of its clients cancel trips to Asia in coming weeks, according to...

February 14, 2020
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14Feb

Marketing To 100-Year-Olds: How Longevity Will Transform Finance, Healthcare And Education

Right now, Stanford University is addressing a pressing and fascinating question: What happens to society when everyone starts living to 100? How will we stay physically fit, financially stable and mentally sharp, especially in that back half? Exploring these questions is the goal of the Stanford Longevity Project. Also Read A low birth rate and a rapidly ageing population: Europe’s demographic crisis explained To answer them, they’ve partnered with major brands like Wells Fargo, Instructure, and Principal to...

February 14, 2020
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14Feb

Canadian defined benefit pension plans generated second-highest returns in a decade: RBC Investor & Treasury Services

To mark the end of a decade characterized by fintech disruptors, geopolitical tensions and regulatory changes, Canadian defined benefit pension plans returned 14.0 per cent in 2019, according to the RBC Investor & Treasury Services All Plan Universe. This was the second highest annual return over the past 10 years, in large part due to an upsurge in Canadian and global equity markets. "Over the past 10 years, the average Canadian Defined Benefits plan has generated an annualized return...

February 14, 2020
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14Feb

Denmark’s Largest Pension Fund to Launch Sustainable Vehicle

By Michael Katz PFA, Denmark’s largest pension fund with DKK560 billion ($82 billion) in assets, is launching a pension product that allows participants to invest their retirement savings in climate-focused investments that it says will be carbon neutral in five years at the latest. Beginning this summer, PFA Climate Plus will be available to the fund’s customers to allow them the opportunity to “significantly step up” how much their pensions contribute to cutting carbon dioxide emissions, the fund said. “As Denmark’s...

February 14, 2020
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14Feb

Ireland. Hundreds of community employment scheme supervisors to strike

Hundreds of community employment (CE) scheme supervisors are to hold a one-day strike on Friday over access to a pension scheme. The supervisors will join with staff working in organisations providing health and social care services that receive State grant-aid (known as section 39 bodies) at a protest to be held in Dublin on Friday. In addition, section 39 workers are scheduled to take industrial action on February 21st in a dispute over pay restoration. The rally is being...

February 14, 2020
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13Feb

U.K. Moves to Require Pensions to Disclose Climate Change Plans

British pension funds may soon need to explain how they are fighting climate change under a global framework as the U.K. aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The U.K.’s Department for Work and Pensions said Wednesday that it proposed an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill that would require pensions to disclose their climate change strategies under the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, a voluntary framework that is widely used by companies. Also Read UK. Government mulls tax...

February 13, 2020
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