February 2019

12Feb

First U.S. Pension Funds Take the Plunge on Crypto Investing

Morgan Creek Digital has scored what it says is probably the first investment in the crypto asset universe from a U.S. pension fund. Two pension plans in Fairfax County, Virginia are anchor investors in a new $40 million venture-capital fund, according to a statement from the company. Other investors include an insurance company, a university endowment and a private foundation, said Morgan Creek Digital founder Anthony Pompliano, who declined to provide further details. Many institutional investors, which crypto enthusiasts...

February 12, 2019
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12Feb

United Kingdom: PS pension study postponed

A decision by the UK Government to delay part of its work on the valuation of Public Service pensions has sparked an angry response from unions. Critics of the move say it is simply a stalling measure to deny improvements to members’ benefits. Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss (pictured) told Parliament that a December judgement from the Court of Appeal on “transactional protection” offered to some scheme members could have a £4 billion (A$7.1 billion) a year...

February 12, 2019
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11Feb

UK. Seven years in jail for bosses who recklessly risk pensions

Devil-may-care directors who recklessly put workers’ pensions at risk will face up to 7 years in prison or unlimited fines. A new criminal offence of ‘wilful or reckless behaviour’ in relation to pensions will be introduced under the proposals to crack down on abuse of final or average salary schemes. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Amber Rudd, said: The vast majority of bosses take their responsibilities seriously and look after their workers’ retirement funds. However, for too...

February 11, 2019
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11Feb

South Africa. DA to fight ANC’s attempt to nationalise private pensions

Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Sunday accused the African National Congress (ANC) government of resorting to exactly the same "desperate tactics" used by the apartheid regime when they could not raise capital in the international markets. "Reports indicate that the African National Congress is still intent on gunning for South Africans’ hard-earned pensions and retirement funds by imposing prescribed assets," DA spokesman Alf Lees said. ANC treasurer general Paul Mashatile was quoted on Sunday as having...

February 11, 2019
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08Feb

Work in Europe If You Want Your Pension to Grow While Doing Good

The continent has some $12 trillion committed to sustainable investing, more than anywhere else. These days, European asset managers’ websites all seem to have a section devoted to ESG, providing their take on a range of environmental, social, and governance topics including green energy and women on boards. Every mutual fund company has an ESG product, and every investment bank is rolling out ESG research. Europe is the place to be if you want to do good while becoming...

February 8, 2019
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08Feb

Cyprus to set up a single insurance and pensions supervisory authority

Cyprus will set up a new single independent insurance and pensions fund supervisory authority joining the separate authorities currently supervising the sectors, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades announced on Thursday. The announcement was made during a joint press conference with the President of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions (EIOPA) Authority Gabriel Bernardino, who backed the government’s proposal. “I am really encouraged of the announcement the Minister made today, I strongly supported it,” Bernandino said, adding that the proposal is clearly...

February 8, 2019
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08Feb

America’s public pension plans make over-optimistic return assumptions

Promising a pension is a long-term and expensive business, especially if the payout is linked to earnings. But whether the employer is private or public, the cost ought to be the same in the long run and so, you might assume, would be the investment approach. Until 2008 that was true for American pension plans: private and public-sector schemes had roughly the same asset allocation. But a new report by Jean-Pierre Aubry and Caroline Crawford of the Centre for...

February 8, 2019
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08Feb

Credit Suisse AM claims success with blockchain test

Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) and Banco Best, a Portugal-based bank, have used blockchain technology to process an end-to-end fund transaction and said “considerable benefits” would come from the technology. The firms – who are the latest in the funds industry to experiment with blockchain – said the transaction captured each component of the trade lifecycle from order delivery to trade settlement. The trade was processed on FundsDLT, the Luxembourg-based blockchain initiative that is a collaboration between Fundsquare, a...

February 8, 2019
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08Feb

Is Your Retirement Plan 21st Century Ready?

Most people still have a 20th century vision of retirement in their heads: an idyllic 20-plus-year vacation spent traveling, pursuing hobbies, and hanging out with grandchildren. As compelling as that vision might seem, there are game-changing challenges to the retirement of the 21st century. Consider these trends: Life expectancies from birth increased by more than 30 years during the 20th century, resulting in millions of retirees living well into their 80s and 90s. This is one of humankind’s greatest...

February 8, 2019
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07Feb

IMF warns Italy over plans to lower retirement age

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday criticised Italy's plans to lower the retirement age, saying they would cut the country's growth potential and add to an already high pension bill. In a report following its annual Article IV meetings with Italian authorities, the IMF also criticised aspects of the new income support scheme which is the government's other flagship reform, though it backed the thrust of the measure. IMF directors "underscored the need to protect the poor by means...

February 7, 2019
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