October 2021
14Oct

​Icelandic pensions major blacklists 138 firms as new policy kicks in

Iceland’s second-biggest pension fund, the Pension Fund of Commerce (Lífeyrissjóður verzlunarmanna, LV), announced it is blacklisting 138 firms as the result of its new responsible investment policy, revealing it has already sold ISK3bn (€20m) of investments, with more to follow. Read also Sustainable investment ‘rebooting’ Europe’s private markets, research finds The ISK1trn pension provider said most of the exclusions were firms producing coal and oil sands, while 22 made “controversial weapons”, 15 were considered to be in breach of the UN...

October 14, 2021
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14Oct

Ireland. Pensions adequacy, planning for better life expectancy

By 2070, males born in Ireland will be expected to live 22 years longer than they would have in 1951, while females would be expected to live 23 years longer. Earlier this month, the Department of Finance released a report which suggested that the best way to deal with the pensions timebomb was to link the state pension age to life expectancy. The report was not greeted with enthusiasm. Political pressure after the last election forced a deferral of the planned...

October 14, 2021
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13Oct

U.K. pensions will be greener and DC plans more consolidated, minister says

U.K. pension funds are on a journey to be "safer, better and greener," and defined contribution plans are headed for consolidation, U.K. Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion Guy Opperman said Tuesday at the P&I World Pension Summit in The Hague. Last year, the U.K. was the first G-7 country to commit to mandatory climate disclosures under the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, and pension funds will have to disclose how climate change impacts their investment portfolios as part...

October 13, 2021
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13Oct

Reconciling population and social expectations in Japan

Japan has been declared the world’s first ‘super-aged’ society and a ‘pioneer shrinking society’, rapidly inverting the demographic pyramid upon which the modern state has been built. Since 1989, when the low fertility rate of 1.57 became a major social concern, numbers have continued to trend downward. In June 2020, the Japanese government announced the preliminary results of the 2020 census revealing that the number of births in that year was the lowest on record. Government efforts since the mid-1990s...

October 13, 2021
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13Oct

Canada. Ontario Teachers’ Announces Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Vantage Elevator Solutions

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board ("Ontario Teachers'"), today announced an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Vantage Elevator Solutions ("Vantage"), a leading North American designer, manufacturer and distributor of elevator components and systems. As part of the transaction, Vantage's current owner, Golden Gate Capital, will retain a significant minority ownership stake in the company. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. Vantage is a leading North American elevator component manufacturer, providing a broad portfolio of parts and components...

October 13, 2021
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13Oct

Superannuation gives Australians a stake in nation’s prosperity: Minister

Superannuation Minister Jane Hume has told a world summit on retirement incomes Australia’s compulsory saving system has helped the nation weather financial shocks and given people a stake in its prosperity. The federal government has resisted a fierce push from within its ranks during the past two years to overhaul the system by scrapping a legislated increase to the superannuation guarantee and give Australians greater access to their savings for housing deposits. Speaking to the World Pension Summit in The Hague...

October 13, 2021
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12Oct

US. Milliman analysis: Corporate pension funded ratio holds steady at 97.3% in September

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI), which analyzes the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans. A rise in discount rates during September countered a 1.68% investment loss for corporate pensions, leaving the funded status of the Milliman 100 PFI nearly flat for the month. The market value of assets declined by $38 billion while the monthly discount rate climbed from 2.65% in August to...

October 12, 2021
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12Oct

DC execs think U.K. government should raise mandatory contribution rates

U.K. executives that oversee defined contribution plans think the government should increase mandatory contribution rates and did not change their approach to running their plans as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Read also UK. Govt launches consultation on NHS pension scheme changes A joint survey by Mercer and the Confederation of British Industry, which represents U.K. businesses, also showed that although businesses support an expansion of automatic enrollment, a significant minority currently can't afford higher minimum contribution levels. Read also U.K....

October 12, 2021
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12Oct

WTW and Qontigo launch climate transition indices

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and Qontigo have announced the launch of the STOXX WTW Climate Transition Indices (CTI), which utilise a new methodology to quantify the impact of a Paris-aligned climate transition on equity valuations. The CTI are expected to help investors, governments and companies to manage the risk and opportunities in their portfolios, looking "beyond carbon emissions” with a forward-looking, bottom-up evaluation of transition risk and opportunity for each company. The proprietary Climate Transition Value at Risk (CTVaR) measure analyses...

October 12, 2021
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11Oct

Sustainable investment ‘rebooting’ Europe’s private markets, research finds

The rise in demand for sustainable investments is driving a “structural reboot” of private market investing in Europe, with environmental, social and governance funds on track to account for up to two-fifths of the industry’s assets in just a few years. According to research from PwC, ESG private market assets could hit between €775.7bn and €1.2tn by 2025, up from €253bn in 2020, as regulation and client demand force an overhaul of private equity, real estate, infrastructure and private debt...

October 11, 2021
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