October 2017

13Oct

Trump health-care order could violate retirement plan law

President Donald Trump's plan to make it easier for small businesses to band together and buy stripped-down health insurance plans could violate a federal law governing employee benefit plans and will almost certainly be challenged in court, legal experts said. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at letting small businesses join nationwide associations for the purpose of buying large-group health plans that are not subject to coverage requirements of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. Industry experts said...

October 13, 2017
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12Oct

UK chancellor: ‘Alive to the risk’ of post-Brexit insurance ‘uncertainties’

UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has said the government was “alive to the risk” that the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union “could in some cases create legal uncertainties as to the status of existing cross-border insurance, pension and other financial services contracts sold under passporting arrangements”. The chancellor’s comments were contained in a letter dated 20 September, which was in response to an earlier written query on the part of Treasury select committee chairperson Nicky Morgan, and which became public...

October 12, 2017
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12Oct

Why ‘nudging’ works: People need a push when it comes to retirement savings

Studies show that we are living longer and retiring later, but too many of us are not adequately preparing for retirement. People who do not save for retirement often do not have access to an employer-run retirement program, do not understand how much money they will need to save, or lack the financial knowledge to make the best investment decisions. For many, working longer seems to be the new retirement strategy. There are many reasons why individuals do not always act...

October 12, 2017
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12Oct

Canadian Pension Fund To Invest In Singapore Keppel’s Asset Management Business

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has decided to make an initial investment of up to $350 million, with an option to invest another $150 million, in Alpha Data Centre Fund, the asset management business of Singapore's Keppel Corporation. CPPIB's latest commitment and option will bring the ADCF's combined and co-investment interest up to $1 billion, double its initial target size of $500 million, Keppel said in an exchange filing today. "When fully leveraged and invested, the fund will potentially have...

October 12, 2017
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12Oct

Schroders Poll: Sustainable Investing Remains A Challenge For Institutional Investors

Sustainable investing continues to present a challenge to nearly four out of five institutional investors, according to a new survey from global investment manager Schroders, with performance concerns and a lack of transparency/data leading the way. Schroders polled some 500 institutions for its latest Global Institutional Investor Study, including surveyed a wide range of global pension funds, foundations, endowments and sovereign wealth funds. Key highlights: 77% of survey respondents reported that investing sustainably remains a challenge. Almost half (48%) say...

October 12, 2017
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11Oct

Nobel Prize winner Richard Thaler may have added $29.6 billion to retirement accounts

Richard Thaler, the recent recipient of the Nobel Prize in economics, has helped retirement savers substantially in the past decade — to the tune of about $29.6 billion, perhaps, according to fellow researcher Shlomo Benartzi. Though it is hard to calculate an exact estimate on how much has been saved in retirement specifically because of Thaler’s work, which focuses on behavioral economics and how to get people to stash away more money for their futures, clearly the implementation of Thaler’s...

October 11, 2017
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11Oct

South Africa. PIC looting concerns raise red flags for proposed state pension fund

Concerns that politicians view the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) as a cash cow will loom large over discussions to establish an overarching pension fund for South Africa. The new fund wants to consolidate the more than 5 000 public and private retirement funds into one giant mandatory institution, possibly under government control. The new centralised retirement fund or National Social Security Fund (NSSF) will centralise current retirement funds estimated to be worth R3trn. It aims to force South Africans to save for retirement,...

October 11, 2017
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11Oct

Blockchain Could Revolutionize Retirement Planning

The latest industry to adopt blockchain for its operations is the pension planning industry. The retirement services industry is estimated to have a total value of pension assets of $19.1 trillion in the United States. Despite its massive size, however, the industry still operates in data silos and with Excel sheets. Blockchain could streamline operations and make it easier for pension account planners and holders to manage payouts. A paper by consulting firm Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (CTSH) earlier this...

October 11, 2017
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11Oct

China. Revised rules to benefit pensions

China released revised regulation on securities insurance and underwriting on Tuesday that gives insurance funds priority to subscribe to new shares offline, a move to benefit the public and improve market-oriented stock pricing. The revised regulation said at least 40 percent of new shares placed offline should first seek public offering funds, social security funds, and basic pension funds, according to the official website of Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council. It added that a certain proportion of new shares...

October 11, 2017
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10Oct

Global Funds Eye Australia’s $1.8 Trillion Pension Pool

More global fund managers are setting up shop in Australia, drawn to the nation’s A$2.3 trillion ($1.8 trillion) pension savings pool and new local investment opportunities. THL Credit Inc., an alternative credit manager based in Boston, said in September that it hired a director in Australia. New York-based credit hedge fund GoldenTree Asset Management opened an office in Sydney last month after appointing a local managing director. Oaktree Capital Management, which already manages Australian pension money, headed Down Under last...

October 10, 2017
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