February 2019

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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07Feb

US. Retirement Security Bill Re-Introduced In Congress

More U.S. workers would get opportunities to participate in an employer-provided retirement under a bipartisan retirement security bill introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives. The measure contains several provisions which the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) has long-supported and advocated for enactment. Known as the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act, the bill was initially introduced in previous session. It was re-introduced by Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wisc., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa., as the House Ways and Means Committee conducted...

February 7, 2019
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07Feb

Institute of Race Relations launches campaign to warn South Africans about the risk to their pensions

A campaign to warn South Africans about the risks to their pensions, and to take a stand in urging the government to concentrate on growing the economy instead has been launched by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR). This follows the announcement that the governing African National Congress (ANC) is considering introducing a regime of prescribed assets. The IRR has warned that expropriation without compensation (EWC) will be about more than just land, and extend to other forms of...

February 7, 2019
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07Feb

Private equity eyes long-term with Latin American infrastructure buys

Global institutional investors are circling a swathe of energy-related infrastructure assets in Latin America to increase their exposure in a region rife with more uncertainties but offering greater returns than those in more developed markets such as the US. Private investors or pension funds with cash burning holes in their pockets are increasingly participating in leveraged acquisitions of assets from Chile to Mexico. Mainly in the energy and infrastructure fields, such assets come with assigned long-term operating concessions and...

February 7, 2019
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06Feb

OECD urges Hungarian policy change

Hungary should focus its efforts on inclusive reforms, such as overhauling public pensions and the healthcare system, the OECD has urged. Although the Hungarian economy is growing – driven by high employment levels – a shift in government policy is needed to ensure green growth and better social benefits, the Paris-based organisation said in its latest Economic Survey of the country. The survey highlighted that public spending on pensions is putting pressure on public finances – despite being one of the lowest in...

February 6, 2019
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06Feb

UK. Pension billions could be unlocked to boost economic growth and savers’ returns

Billions of pounds of investment could be unlocked by pension schemes to fund start-up companies and infrastructure projects, boosting Britain’s economy and savers’ returns, under proposals unveiled by the government on February 5. Members of occupational defined contribution (DC) pension schemes may be missing out on potential benefits of long-term investments in ventures such as small firms, housing, green energy and sustainable development, according to the Minister for Pensions. Assets in occupational DC schemes have almost tripled to £60 billion since the start...

February 6, 2019
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06Feb

Bahrain launches fintech talent programme

Bahrain FinTech Bay and the Labour Fund “Tamkeen” announced in a press conference yesterday the launch of its FinTech Talent Program focused on the training and development of Bahrainis and is the first and only of its kind in the Middle East. The inaugural FinTech Talent Program (FTP), supported by the Tamkeen ‘Labor Fund’, has been developed in partnership with global experts in finance and technology, including Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business- and international blockchain and artificial intelligence academies....

February 6, 2019
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06Feb

Puerto Rico Treasury Announces Qualified Retirement Plan Limits for 2019

The Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury recently issued Circular Letter Internal Revenue No. 18-21 (the “Circular”), which announced applicable qualified retirement plan limits for 2019, as required by the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, as amended (the “PR Code”). For plans qualified only in Puerto Rico, the limits on elective deferrals, catch-up contributions, and after-tax contributions all remain unchanged for 2019, while the limits on annual benefits, annual contributions, plan compensation, and the highly compensated...

February 6, 2019
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