December 2019

South Korea. finalizes guidelines on pension fund’s shareholder activism

South Korea on Friday approved proposed guidelines for shareholder activism by the country's largest state pension fund, paving the way for the fund to press companies it holds stakes in to dismiss board members over breach of trust and other illegal activities. "The guidelines are part of efforts to manage the National Pension Service in a more transparent and fair manner," Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said in a meeting of the management committee -- the highest decision-making...

Indians Fear Running Out of Funds in Retirement

It is said that money can’t buy happiness but Indian earners beg to differ. Recently released Standard Chartered Wealth Expectancy Report 2019 shows that as much as 77 per cent of the 1,000 Indian respondents consider money essential to their happiness. In fact, wealth is so important that many Indian earners or wealth creators, as the report calls them, are anxious about their financial future. The survey was conducted in 10 countries across Asia, Africa and Middle East, among...

Greek government planning pension rises for 450,000 recipients

After reversing itself and approving holiday handouts, Greece’s New Democracy government now said there will be hikes beginning in January 2020 to 450,000 main and auxiliary pension benefits. Who gets them and how much will be determined after a study for the Labor Ministry for the National Actuarial Authority, said Kathimerini in a report in which it said it was told by sources not identified that the hikes will be retroactive to Oct. 6, 2019, for 60,000 beneficiaries whose pensions...

US. Why states must address pension reform now, before it’s too late

By Keith Greinet and Seth Grove  It’s been quite a while since the American economy has performed as well as it is now doing. Joblessness has sunk to record lows, causing some analysts to suggest we may be as close to full employment as we’re ever going to get. Core inflation remains under control, wages are rising and the U.S. Treasury just announced record total tax revenues of $470 billion for the first two months of the new...

Unmerry Christmas as French transport strike enters fourth week

Christmas Day brought no respite for travellers in France as a transport strike entered its fourth week, ruining the plans of thousands to share a traditional meal and quality time with loved ones. Many scrambled at the last minute to make alternative arrangements as the protest against pension reform saw thousands of trains cancelled or delayed -- and taxis, ride-sharing services and car rental agencies unable to make up the shortfall. Only a fraction of high-speed and inter-city trains ran...

Africa’s Biggest Fund Manager Needs CEO for $150 Billion Assets

South Africa’s main manager of government-worker pensions is facing its second new year in a row without a chief executive officer as the board struggles to identify a suitable custodian of its $150 billion of assets. The state-owned Public Investment Corp. has been without a permanent leader since Daniel Matjila was ousted in November 2018, with two consecutive acting heads running Africa’s biggest fund manager in the meantime. Reuel Khoza, the PIC’s first non-government affiliated chairman, said in July...

Macron’s popularity slightly down as pension strikes gather pace

A poll released on Monday showed French President Emmanuel Macron's popularity suffered a slight slowdown in December when anti-pension reform protests and strikes were gathering pace. Figures from Odoxa pollster showed that Macron's dissatisfaction rating rose to 67 percent in December, from 65 percent a month earlier. "This ...is indeed small in view of the (social) anger and the support which the opponents of the pension reform still enjoy," said Gael Sliman, Odoxa's director. Macron proposes to replace the...

Colombia’s Pension Reform Hampered By Political Tension

According to a new report by Colombia Risk Analysis, the debate underway over pension reform in Colombia is plagued with misinformation and confusion resulting from the current divisive political climate in the country, and conflicting objectives by various political actors. Current protests and strikes over a myriad of grievances have partially paralyzed the country literally and figuratively. The current administration of President Ivan Duque enjoys only a 26% approval rating according to recent polls and thus lacks political capital...

Japan, European Development Bank Launch Social Bond Initiative

Japan’s $1.48 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) have launched a partnership to promote and develop sustainable capital markets. Their focus will be on social bonds, and the incorporation of ESG assessments in fixed-income investments. “GPIF requires all asset managers to integrate ESG into their investment analysis and decision-making,” Hiro Mizuno, CIO of GPIF, said in a statement. “We regard the purchase of green, social and sustainability bonds as one of...

Fintech’s next decade will look radically different

The birth and growth of financial technology developed mostly over the last ten years. So as we look ahead, what does the next decade have in store? I believe we’re starting to see early signs: in the next ten years, fintech will become portable and ubiquitous as it moves to the background and centralizes into one place where our money is managed for us. When I started working in fintech in 2012, I had trouble tracking competitive search terms...