December 2018

18Dec

Opinion. Other people’s money: ESG investing and the conflicts of the consultant class

We should not play political games with other people’s money. That gamesmanship is the very essence of ESG investing, with all of the self-dealing and other perversities that politicized investment choices engender. Unintended consequences are a longstanding effect of public policies, an eternal truth seemingly invisible to one generation after another of policymakers eager to improve upon the economic arrangements emerging from market competition and individual choices. Witness, for example, a regulation implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...

December 18, 2018
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18Dec

US. Tax-Efficient Retirement Withdrawal Strategies

Earlier this year Fidelity reported that the number of 401K millionaires hit an all time high of 168,000 and the number of IRA millionaires hit 156,000. Now that the 76 million Baby Boomers are starting to retire and reach the age of Required Minimum Distributions - planning for tax efficiently drawing down their savings is becoming a bigger concern. Additionally many people believe we may be in a once in a generation window of low taxes , and that...

December 18, 2018
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17Dec

Emergency Brexit plan being drafted for Irish residents receiving British pension payments

Emergency legislation is being drafted to ensure people living in Ireland who receive a British state pension are not impacted by the UK crashing out of the European Union. Senior civil servants are also drafting legislation which would ensure British-based pensioners who receive the Irish state pension do not lose out in a no-deal Brexit scenario. More than 135,000 people living in Ireland receive the British state pension. Pension payments are just one area of legislation identified during a root-and-branch trawl...

December 17, 2018
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17Dec

Singapore Savings Bonds opened to Supplementary Retirement Scheme funds; individual limit to double

Investors will be able to apply for Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) using their Supplementary Retirement Scheme funds with effect from Feb 1, 2019, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a media release on Monday (Dec 17). The Supplementary Retirement Scheme is a voluntary scheme to encourage individuals to save for retirement, over and above their CPF savings. Similar to cash applications, the minimum application amount is S$500. The S$100,000 individual limit for SSB will be also doubled from S$100,000...

December 17, 2018
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17Dec

US. Shareholders call on ExxonMobil to set greenhouse gas reduction targets

A number of institutional investors in ExxonMobil Corp (XOM.N) have said they will file a shareholder resolution which calls on the world’s largest oil company to set targets for lowering its greenhouse gas emissions. The call, led by the New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) and the Church Commissioners of England (CCE), comes in the wake of shareholder moves at other major energy firms seeking to make them more responsive to climate change and its impact on the business. The...

December 17, 2018
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17Dec

Italian Premier Wins Populist Support for Budget Offer to EU

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte forged a deal with populist leaders to submit a revised budget proposal to the European Commission, in a bid to avert fines against Italy. Conte’s euroskeptic deputies Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio, who hold most of the political power in the administration, set aside their opposition to concessions at talks running late into Sunday night and agreed on a new package to send to Brussels, government officials said. Investors aren’t pricing in a deal just yet...

December 17, 2018
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16Dec

Informing Retirement Savings Decisions: A Field Experiment on Supplemental Plans

By Robert L. Clark (North Carolina State University - Poole College of Management), Robert G. Hammond (North Carolina State University), Melinda Sandler Morrill (North Carolina State University - Department of Economics), Christelle Khalaf (North Carolina State University) Although supplemental saving plans can be an important part of an individual's financial security in retirement, contribution rates remain low, particularly among those with lower salaries and less education. We report findings from an intervention that provided information on key aspects of the...

December 16, 2018
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14Dec

BlackRock, Microsoft to Build Retirement-Planning Platform

BlackRock and Microsoft are teaming up to build retirement tools for individual investors, a growing market as employers move away from pensions. The partners will launch an unnamed product, still in development, next year for companies to offer to their employees. About 40% of Americans said they are not confident they will have enough money in retirement. BlackRock is inking its biggest technology alliance yet, aiming to help Americans save for retirement. The firm is working with Microsoft to build...

December 14, 2018
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14Dec

Welfare, pensions to be revised to meet Italian deficit target

Italy’s government will cut “a few billion” euros from its two main reforms in order to hit the new deficit target it proposed to the European Commission, Deputy Industry Minister Dario Galli said on Thursday. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte met EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday and offered to lower Italy’s deficit target for next year to 2.04 percent of gross domestic product from 2.4 percent previously to avoid disciplinary action from the EU. “A few billions (in savings) compared...

December 14, 2018
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14Dec

S.Korea says pension fund to boost investment in risk assets

South Korea on Friday said its National Pension Fund, the world’s third-largest, would aim to boost its ratio of risk assets, such as stocks and real estate, to 60 percent over time from 50 percent now, as it looks to lift investment returns. The fund, which managed assets of 654 trillion won ($578.77 billion) by the end of September, will also aim to boost the ratio of overseas investment to about 45 percent from 30 percent now. The steps are part...

December 14, 2018
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