March 2022

‘ESG is too important to ignore’: What a shift to green investments means for your pensions
03Mar

‘ESG is too important to ignore’: What a shift to green investments means for your pensions

Pension schemes are being used to hit long-term Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, which experts say may put your savings at risk. Pension schemes in the UK contain over £2.5trn of wealth, and the industry is considered a key part of the shift towards clean energy, according to the Government. It says pension schemes include the “largest single group of institutional investors in the UK, with significant influence over the flow of investments in the economy.” Coupled with their long-term investment...

March 3, 2022
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
03Mar

Valmex steps up efforts to grow in Mexico’s stagnant private-pension segment

After 14 years at Principal, Luis Lozano, a champion of open architecture, joined Valmex in February 2021. Since then, the institutional-investments head has been working to enhance the pension segment of Valmex’s business, as he told Fund Pro Latin America in an exclusive interview. “It is necessary to develop the voluntary pension market, especially for those with higher income who are not fully covered under the traditional and obligatory pension market (via the Afores). In this segment, replacement rates are...

March 3, 2022
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
El cambio climático y la diversidad
02Mar

Climate change and diversity remain biggest concerns for investors ahead of AGM season

Climate change and diversity will be the most pressing issues for investment managers during this year’s AGM season, according to the new expectations on companies issued by the Investment Association (IA). With climate change presenting “one of the biggest risks to the long-term sustainability of a company”, investment managers will be looking for businesses to take immediate action, the IA reported, explaining how climate change will impact them and how they are mitigating the risk. IA encouraged firms to disclose their...

March 2, 2022
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
02Mar

From Japan to the US, sanctions threaten top pension funds’ Russia assets

Norway’s announcement it would divest its sovereign wealth fund’s Russian holdings – totalling $2.8 billion as of end-December – as a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised the prospect that other state-backed pension funds might follow their governments’ cues and offload assets en masse. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) – the largest in the world by assets – had ¥213.1 billion ($1.9 billion) in exposures to Russia as of end-March 2021. Read more @Risk 555 views

March 2, 2022
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
02Mar

UK firms rush to dump Russian assets amid efforts to isolate Moscow

British firms are scrambling to dump Russian assets amid efforts by the US, EU and UK governments to deepen Moscow’s economic isolation after the invasion of Ukraine. Read also More U.K., European investors move away from Russia Legal & General, Abrdn and state-backed pension scheme Nest have said they will try to sell their holdings in Russian stocks, while British Gas owner Centrica on Tuesday became the third big British energy firm to cut ties with Russia within a week, echoing...

March 2, 2022
News, Slider, , , , ,
Read more...
02Mar

US. NYPD pension fund to divest $42M of Russian-issued securities investments

New York City’s Police Pension fund will divest its securities investments issued by Russian companies, following a slew of state and federal sanctions boycotting Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine. The fund’s trustees – which include Mayor Eric Adams, city Comptroller Brad Lander and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell – voted Tuesday directing the comptroller to divest $42.2 million following a review of its public equity and fixed income investments in Russian businesses. Trustees wrote in the resolution passed that they’re “concerned...

March 2, 2022
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
01Mar

U.S. funds reviewing next steps in light of sanctions against Russia

Federal mandates for sanctioning Russian financial institutions are prompting several U.S. public pension funds to assess their portfolios. Brad Lander, New York City Comptroller and fiduciary of the $266.7 billion New York City Retirement Systems, said in a statement Monday that while the system's five pension funds make individual investment decisions, including those related to divestment, he plans to present to trustees a list of assets to consider divesting. Read also US. NYPD pension fund to divest $42M of Russian-issued securities...

March 1, 2022
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
01Mar

Kenya. Pension sector outlook positive despite election uncertainties

Kenya’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth has a history of slackening during election years. During this period, fund managers and individuals put investment decisions on hold pending a return to normalcy in the political scene. The extremity of the December 2007 elections, which sunk growth to 0.23 per cent in 2008 from 6.85 per cent a year earlier, stretched the speculation on political risk for subsequent years. In 2013, GDP decelerated to 3.80 per cent from 4.57 per cent while...

March 1, 2022
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
01Mar

Hungarian pension funds made record income from insurance premiums

Pension funds made record income from insurance premiums, not to mention health care funds, which didn’t deny refunds to their families from their payments. It can be said that a win-win situation has developed in the fund sector, according to the latest data of Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), more payments have been made to fund accounts than ever before. Voluntary pension funds closed a successful final quarter that had been unprecedented for at least a decade and a half. The multi-year...

March 1, 2022
News, Slider, ,
Read more...

February 2022
28Feb

U.S. asset owners react, mull responses to Ukraine invasion

U.S. asset owners, their supervisors, and state legislative bodies are grappling with the impact of Thursday's Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In Illinois, state Rep. Jim Durkin announced Thursday he would introduce legislation that would require the state's five pension funds to divest from any holdings in Russian companies. "This morning, we woke up to shocking images crossing our TV screens. People in cities throughout Ukraine huddled in subways and shelters while explosions shake their cities as Russian soldiers begin an invasion...

February 28, 2022
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...