March 2019

20Mar

New Pension Calculation Formula in Bulgaria will not Lead to Pension Cuts

Steps will be taken to ensure that not a single person's pension is lowered by revisions to the pension calculation rules that took effect at the start of 2019, Labour and Social Policy Minister Bisser Petkov said following an extraordinary meeting with Prime Minister Boyko Borrisov on 19th of March, reports BNT. It was convened because of the accumulated public tension a day after the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) released an assessment according to which the changes...

March 20, 2019
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20Mar

New voice-powered Finley AI offers financial and pension advice

Former wealth manager and financial advisor Elemi Atigolo developed Finley AI – which he claims is the first of its kind in the world – in order to use technology to bridge a knowledge gap in today’s society. Finley AI can be instantly accessed via any Google Assistant-enabled device by speaking the words “Google talk to financial helper”. The voice-interactive programme cannot give personalised advice, but Elemi claims it can offer answers to general questions that users might ask...

March 20, 2019
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19Mar

New pension comparison app set to launch

Age Wage, a new defined contribution comparison service, is expected to be up and running in June this year. The fintech company, which will soon enter the Financial Conduct Authority sandbox, will be launching an app which will allow savers to receive a score for their pension, and switch to another provider if they’re not happy with their results. Through an app, savers will be able to see the value of their pot, how it compares to a benchmark,...

March 19, 2019
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19Mar

10 Years of Green Bonds: Creating the Blueprint for Sustainability Across Capital Markets

The phone call to the World Bank Treasury came out of the blue: in late 2007, a group of Swedish pension funds wanted to invest in projects that help the climate, but they did not know how to find these projects. But they knew where to turn and called on the World Bank to help. Less than a year later, the World Bank issued the first green bond—and with it, created a new way to connect financing from investors...

March 19, 2019
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19Mar

UK. Government gives green light to CDC pension schemes

The government has confirmed the launch of Collective Defined Contribution pension schemes in a new consultation. CDC schemes, which are already popular in Denmark and the Netherlands, pay out a regular income from a collective fund rather than producing an individual 'pension pot'. Last year, Royal Mail reached a deal with the Communication Workers Union which sought to launch CDC pensions in the UK. The government has today confirmed that it will "introduce CDC provisions slowly", starting with the...

March 19, 2019
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19Mar

Blackstone joins KKR and BlackRock in Mexico private equity fundraising

Blackstone Group has raised $695 million from Mexican pension funds for its first two local private equity funds, filings showed, joining Black Rock and KKR & Co in expanding in Mexico following regulatory changes. Several of the world’s top private equity managers have quietly raised billions of dollars from Mexican pension funds, known as afores, since new rules were enacted early last year, filings to the Mexican Stock Exchange and a non-public document reviewed by Reuters showed. Regulators have...

March 19, 2019
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19Mar

Only half of Americans have access to a 401(k)

Using a 401(k) plan to save for retirement is an attractive option: You get tax advantages, the funds are automatically taken out of your paycheck for you and sometimes your company even matches your contribution up to a certain amount, which is essentially free money. But many Americans don’t have access to this specific retirement tool. “Roughly half of all households are offered work-based retirement plans at their current jobs,” researchers at the Stanford Center on Longevity point out...

March 19, 2019
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19Mar

Canada’s Biggest Pension Fund Mulls Opening First China Office

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages around C$368.5 billion ($277 billion), is considering opening its first office in China as it seeks greater exposure to the world’s second-largest economy. Canada’s largest pension fund investor could open an office in Beijing as soon as next year, Hong Kong-based head of Asia Pacific Suyi Kim said in an interview this month. Staff there would then work closely with CPPIB’s 130 employees in Hong Kong, which have helped to invest C$42...

March 19, 2019
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19Mar

Pension Risk Transfer Volume Blows Past Forecasts

U.S. life insurers took over more pension responsibility than they might have expected in 2018. Full-year sales of group annuities used to transfer pension risk increased to about $26 billion in 2018, up 15% from the total for 2017, according to new issuer survey data from the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. In June, Wayne Daniel, head of U.S. pensions at MetLife, predicted pension plan sponsors might use group annuities to transfer about $20 billion in pension risk in 2018....

March 19, 2019
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18Mar

Principal Financial close to Wells Fargo retirement unit acquisition-sources

Principal Financial Group Inc is in advanced talks to acquire Wells Fargo & Co’s retirement plan services business, in a deal that could exceed $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. Wells Fargo has been seeking to streamline its business as it grapples with the fallout of customer abuse scandals. The bank is prohibited from growing in size after the Federal Reserve slapped it with an unprecedented asset cap in February 2018, citing “widespread consumer abuses and...

March 18, 2019
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