February 2019

26Feb

Pooling Pensions Could Give Better Outcomes For Savers

Financial experts are advocating more pension tinkering after an international study of workplace schemes concluded retirement savers could benefit from pooling resources. The study looked at defined contribution pensions offered by employers and found that pooling could lead to benefit from economies of scale. This was most significant when schemes looked at: Negotiating fees for managing illiquid assets, where larger funds could gain cheaper rates Developing in-house expertise when pooled pensions made the move more cost-effective The report ‘The...

February 26, 2019
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26Feb

UK. Urgent need for real estate industry to adapt to ageing population, report shows

The report, which was written by Professor Les Mayhew of the Cass Business School, at City University, examined the impact that increasing life expectancy will have on UK society and found that too many older people are living in unsuitable housing. This perpetuates the housing crisis and stores up problems for the future. The UK population is expected to increase by 10 million over the next 25 years, with much of that due to people living longer. This has...

February 26, 2019
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26Feb

US. MBTA pension fund faces hard times after 2018 losses

After the MBTA pension fund posted losses in 2018, officials warned Monday that the burden of covering retirement for thousands of T employees remains "a really crucial issue." The fund has been the subject of scrutiny for years as the MBTA grapples with budget concerns. New figures, discussed at the authority's board meeting, did not alleviate the pressure: the fund paid out $100 million more to retirees last year than it collected in contributions from current employees, and it...

February 26, 2019
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26Feb

Ireland. Failure to save for pensions ‘particularly concerning’ for women

More than 60% of women do not have a private pension, a new study has found. According to a survey carried out by Behaviour and Attitudes for Aviva men are more proactive and confident about their retirement income than women. Almost half of the men polled said they had a pension, compared with 37% of women. One in four women surveyed said a pension was something they were unlikely to ever do. Aviva said the results show a pension...

February 26, 2019
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26Feb

Chinese firms led global fintech investments in 2018

Chinese companies accounted for almost half of all fintech investments globally last year, according to a report by consulting firm Accenture. Global investment in financial technology (fintech) companies more than doubled to $55.3 billion in 2018, with China making up $25.5 billion in transactions. «Even with the current volatility in global markets and ongoing macroeconomic concerns, investment in the fintech sector remains strong,» said Richard Lumb, group chief executive for financial services at Accenture. Overall, the number of...

February 26, 2019
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25Feb

Pension Funds Investing In Crypto Is A Big Deal!

Bitcoin is back near $4,000, its highest level since early January. The rally in crypto is across the board as BitcoinCash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero and XRP are all at or near their 30-day highs. I believe that much of the recent strength is the market reacting to multiple stories about public pension funds starting to make investments in cryptocurrencies (or at least make those investments public). For me, the first story that attracted my attention was that...

February 25, 2019
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25Feb

Capitalising on the twin trends of ageing and automation

Both employer and employee must understand the value of upskilling and continuous training, and prioritise these accordingly. Workforces around the world have experienced a number of serious challenges in recent years—from rapid globalisation, to significant business cycle troughs, to fights for gender equality. Two trends, however, are today unprecedented in their scope: widespread societal aging, and the automation of work by intelligent technologies. The confluence of these two trends raises one crucial question: What effect will increased workplace automation...

February 25, 2019
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25Feb

Philippines. Revitalizing retirement, pensions and social security

If we evolve our thinking about social security, pension, retirement and voluntary savings, could we deliver better socio-economic outcomes for the Philippines and better financial well-being for millions of Filipinos? SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY REQUIRES A MATURE CAPITAL MARKET FUELED BY SAVINGS The Philippines has been experiencing a long period of unprecedented growth and prosperity. At the same time, its young population offers a temporary demographic dividend. However, the capital needed for infrastructure to further spur the country’s economic growth is...

February 25, 2019
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22Feb

Cybersecurity risks

Data breaches created some of 2018’s biggest, most immediate scare stories for the general public. Facebook’s revelation in the spring that the personal information of at least 87 million users had been shared was just one of the standout examples. Asia, as it happens, went one better, with January’s disclosure that the personal information of every single one of the 1.1 billion-plus registrants for India’s Aadhaar unique identity number was up for sale. In this kind of environment, who...

February 22, 2019
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22Feb

Crypto Institutional Herd: University Of Michigan Looks To Bolster Blockchain Investment

Mike Novogratz, the chief executive of blockchain startup Galaxy Digital, recently remarked that institutions are “slow to move” when it comes to crypto assets. Yet, this doesn’t seem to be the case. According to an exclusive report from Bloomberg, the University of Michigan’s $12 billion endowment intends to siphon more of its funds into crypto-centric funds in the near future, in spite of the dramatic slump in the Bitcoin price. $12 Billion University Endowment Looks To Double-Down On Blockchain...

February 22, 2019
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