October 2019

11Oct

GE’s Not Alone: 25 Companies That Owe $1 Trillion In Pensions

General Electric is getting out of the pension business — and is just the latest company to do so. But such efforts by S&P 500 companies only go so far. They're still on the hook for hundreds of billions in pension obligations. Twenty-five S&P 500 companies, including International Business Machines (IBM), GE (GE) and General Motors (GM), collectively face $1 trillion in pension benefit obligations, according to an Investor's Business Daily analysis of projections from S&P Global Market Intelligence....

October 11, 2019
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10Oct

Ireland. New setback feared for auto-enrol pension plan

Fresh doubts have emerged about the commitment of the Government to introduce a pension scheme for almost one million private sector workers. Six out of 10 private sector workers have no private or occupational pension. The Government has committed to have an auto-enrolment pension system in place from 2022 for these workers. But no money was allocated in Budget 2020 to set up a key piece of infrastructure to deliver auto-enrolment. Plans for an auto-enrolment pension scheme have been...

October 10, 2019
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10Oct

Sustainable Green Finance May Be The Next Big Thing

Green finance, in its simplicity, are investments flowing into sustainable projects and initiatives that encourage a more environment-friendly and socially-conscious economy. There have been significant advancements in sustainable investments in the last decades that every asset class has evolved to include financial products and investment strategies that incorporate sustainability factors. Green finance leads us to the emerging markets as well, where funding gaps for sustainability developments are wider. This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my...

October 10, 2019
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10Oct

UK. Penfold launches digital pensions aimed at the self-employed

Penfold, a digital pension scheme built specifically for freelancers and runner-up at AltFi’s Fintech Pitch Off Competition at the AltFi London Summit 2019, launched today. The startup is focused on helping self-employed workers start a pension in just a few minutes, and then works around educating and supporting customers who might not have additional employer-supported pension schemes. “We’re aiming to make pensions not just easier, but more attractive for self-employed people to start planning for later in life,” says...

October 10, 2019
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09Oct

US. White House Focuses on China Stock Limits in Retirement Fund

The Trump administration is moving ahead with discussions around possible restrictions on portfolio flows into China, with a particular focus on investments made by U.S. government retirement funds, people familiar with the internal deliberations said. Read also US. GE is freezing its pension plan for 20,000 US workers The efforts are advancing even after American officials pushed back strongly against a Bloomberg News report late last month that a range of such limits was under review. Trump officials last...

October 9, 2019
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09Oct

South Africa. The impact of ethical investment by pension funds

The core functions of a pension fund are to provide its beneficiaries with good enough returns for them to live on – and a good enough world to retire into. It makes little sense to simply strive to generate financial returns for pensioners, if the investments that provide those returns are reckless, bad for the planet or perpetuate social inequality and inequity. It is thus common sense that responsible investing – which all investing should actually be – must...

October 9, 2019
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09Oct

Assets of Romanian pension funds up 26% YOY at end-June

The total assets managed by private pension fund managers (mandatory and voluntary) reached RON 57.43 billion (EUR 12.13 billion) at the end of June, up almost 26% year-on-year, according to data released by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF). The ratio of private pensions assets to GDP was 5.80% at the end of June, up from 5.22% at the end of last year. “Private pension funds are important institutional investors in the economy, and the investments they made on the...

October 9, 2019
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09Oct

A Guide to What’s Happening in the Fintech Revolution

Few industry combinations are as alluring to investors as finance and technology. For the past decade fintech startups have offered new ways to help people handle money. As startups face more competition from tech giants and deep-pocketed banks, investors are turning their attention to fintech in new markets. Here’s a look at some of the developments and trends that are driving the industry today. Read also Norway’s largest pension fund KLP exits oil sands companies A Gold Rush Overseas...

October 9, 2019
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09Oct

UK. Two in five employers concerned by ageing workforce

After surveying employers with over 500,000 staff between them, the researchers found that 44% are worried about older employees that cannot afford to stop working. This has become particularly concerning after the default retirement age was scrapped in 2011, making it increasingly necessary for companies to provide pension support. However, most defined contribution (DC) pension schemes do not have adequate levels of contributions needed to maintain a similar standard of living for many employees. “The impact of an ageing...

October 9, 2019
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08Oct

US. GE is freezing its pension plan for 20,000 US workers

General Electric announced Monday it will freeze its US pension plan for about 20,000 workers to help clean up the company's beleaguered balance sheet.Years of inattention, low interest rates and shrinking profits have left GE with one of the largest pension shortfalls in Corporate America.GE (GE) said it will pre-fund $4 billion to $5 billion of its pension obligations for 2021 and 2022 and offer lump-sum payouts to 100,000 former employees who have not started their monthly payments yet. GE is also...

October 8, 2019
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