January 2019

11Jan

Japan. Face challenges of a shrinking, aging population

The latest population estimate by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, released late last month, points to the accelerating decline of Japan’s population with ever fewer births. The number of babies born in this country in 2018 is estimated at 921,000 — down 25,000 from the previous year and falling short of 1 million for the third year in a row. The lowest annual number of births on record since the government began taking comparable statistics in 1899 was...

January 11, 2019
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11Jan

UK. Local government workers to receive increased pensions protections

Consultation to look at strengthening pensions protections for local government staff who have had their roles outsourced. Public sector workers will receive increased pensions protections in the event their job is outsourced, in proposals published today (10 January 2019). The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is consulting on reforms to ensure local government workers whose roles are compulsorily transferred to independent providers, retain the right to remain in the Local Government Pension Scheme. Under the reforms, transferred...

January 11, 2019
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10Jan

UK. Nine key pensions issues that will hit the headlines in 2019

2019 promises plenty of developments that will keep trustees, employers and advisers busy. From Brexit to superfunds, pension professionals will have to grapple with new legislation, consultations and revised guidance. In this update, we outline nine key pension issues that are likely to dominate the pensions landscape this year, plus some other developments to look out for. Nine key pension issues for 2019 1. Brexit means Brexit, but what will it mean for pensions? At 11pm on 29 March 2019, the UK...

January 10, 2019
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10Jan

Trends that will shape Nigeria’s investment landscape in 2019

Looking into 2019, Sigma Pensions say they expect Nigeria's investment landscape to be shaped by lower oil prices, the pace of monetary policy normalisation in developed markets and Nigeria's 2019 elections. Pabina Yinkere, Chief Investment Officer for Sigma Pensions joins CNBC Africa to discuss how investors should navigate the investment landscape this year Watch the full video here Source: @CNBCAfrica

January 10, 2019
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10Jan

Australia. Investors increasing fixed income allocations

New research has found that fixed income is set to experience a spike over the new twelve months among institutional investors.  BlackRock’s annual survey of global institutional investors found that 38 per cent of investors intended to increase their fixed income allocations, up 9 percentage points from 29 per cent last year. BlackRock’s global head of institutional client business Edwin Conway said that as the economic cycle turned private markets would help clients to navigate the challenging environment. “We have...

January 10, 2019
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10Jan

US. How to Prevent Market Dips From Tanking Your Retirement

For those with decades until retirement, the market’s swings are just a part of the investing process. As long as your asset allocation is in line with your risk tolerance, you can more or less sit back, ignore daily movements and turn off CNN when things get rocky. But for new retirees and those just a few years away, a tanking market is a scarier prospect.If that’s you, you need to start moving some of your assets around to a...

January 10, 2019
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09Jan

UK. Pension cold-calling ban takes effect

A ban on nuisance calls about pensions has now come into force but people are still being urged to be on their guard. Cold-calling has been used by fraudsters trying to steal life savings or persuade people to invest in high-risk schemes. Some 10.9 million unsolicited pension calls and messages are made a year, according to Citizens Advice. Any firm found flouting the rules faces a fine of up to £500,000, but experts suggest fraudsters may ignore the ban....

January 9, 2019
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09Jan

Romania’s Government creates legal framework for occupational pensions

Romania’s Labour Ministry drafted a law that allows employers to set up occupational pensions for their employees, newly-appointed labour minister Marius Budai announced. The occupational pensions are designed as supplementary pensions, a benefit that employers can offer, he explained, according to local Agerpres. The law is aimed at implementing the EU Directive 2016/2341 of the European Parliament endorsed by the European Council on December 14, 2016 for the supervision of the specialised occupational pension funds managers. One or more employers can set...

January 9, 2019
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09Jan

Brazil’s real leads Latam FX gains on pension reform hopes

Brazil's real firmed against the dollar on Tuesday, with investors anticipating tougher government proposals on pension reform, while the losses among some Latin American currencies reversed after comments by U.S. President Donald Trump on trade. Financial markets are hoping that new Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's government will take steps to make deeper cuts to the country's fiscal deficit than envisaged under the previous government. Bolsonaro, who was elected in October and has been an outspoken proponent of shrinking the deficit, is...

January 9, 2019
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09Jan

Australia. Industry super to dominate at $1 trillion by 2024

Industry superannuation funds are on track to overtake self-managed super funds to become the dominant players in the $2.7 trillion retirement savings system within the next two years. The remarkable shift is being driven by a combination of factors, including industry funds' superior investment returns and members switching from retail super funds in the wake of damning hearings at the banking royal commission. Read more @AFR

January 9, 2019
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