March 2021

US. Single-Employer Plans Can Lower Target Returns to 4% and 5%

What can corporate allocators expect now that the pension relief bill has passed? For starters, they can target lower returns and pursue less risky investment strategies. Plan sponsors at single-employer pension plans can reduce their return targets to as low as 4% or 5%, versus higher targets of 6% or 7%, when they extend their amortization periods to 15 years as a result of the stimulus bill, according to calculations from asset manager Insight Investment. Earlier this month, several provisions passed...

New Zealand. Investment or speculation: KiwiSaver fund enters the bitcoin era

NZ Funds Management’s KiwiSaver growth fund has invested in bitcoin, and chief investment officer James Grigor​ expects that within five years it will feature in more KiwiSaver schemes. Read also Cryptocurrency called next great investing opportunity The KiwiSaver provider changed its offer documents in October to allow it to invest in cryptocurrencies for the first time. Grigor said bitcoin had become a commodity, with many of the attractive hallmarks of gold, which investors often bought as a store of value in times...

Swiss pension fund posts $500m decarbonisation mandate on IPE Quest

An unnamed Swiss pension fund is looking for a global equity solution aligned with EU climate benchmark requirements for a $500m (€423m) mandate, according to a new search on IPE Quest. The fund said it is looking to decarbonise its global passive equity exposure with a rule-based carbon and ESG-optimised solution. According to search QN-2686, the solution should match the EU Climate Transition Benchmark (CTB) requirements. The investor specified that it wants minimal regional, sector and style deviation from the index,...

Nigeria. Workers withdrew N1.01bn pension savings in Q4 2020 –PenCom

The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) witnessed the withdrawal of N1.01 billion by 924 workers from the voluntary contributions in their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) with their Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) in the fourth quarter of 2020. Read also Pensions savings can fund Africa eco-plans The National Pension Commission (PenCom), disclosed this in its 2020 fourth quarter report. Read also Chile begins debate on third pension withdrawal amid second wave of the pandemic According to the guidelines on voluntary contribution under the CPS, PenCom...

Fully funded U.S. public pensions not necessary to ensure benefits -study

Most U.S. state and local government pension systems are not facing imminent crisis and do not need to achieve full funding to ensure benefits are paid to retired workers, according to a paper released on Wednesday by the nonprofit public policy Brookings Institution. Retirement plans for state and local government workers have nearly $5 trillion in assets, but would need an additional $4 trillion to meet all of their obligations to current and future retirees, according to the paper. Concerns over...

Pensions savings can fund Africa eco-plans

According to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), the fastest-growing and largest category of impact investing assets under management by investment source is from pension funds and insurance companies. Pension funds that are putting money in impact investing are from the developed world and very little is happening in terms of the investments of the African pension funds. In many places, pension funds are riding on DFIs and other fund managers to make investments especially in developing countries including Africa....

US. 82% say Covid affected their retirement plans

A year after the Covid-19 pandemic first ravaged the world’s societies and economies, more than 80% of Americans say the events of the past year have affected their retirement plans, according to a new study from Fidelity Investments. One-third of the more than 1,200 financial decision-makers Fidelity surveyed said it would take them two to three years to get back on track due to factors such as job loss or withdrawals from retirement savings, according to Fidelity’s 2021 State of...

Cryptocurrency called next great investing opportunity

Cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds are coming to America. While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to weigh in on the March 1 filing from Cboe BZX Exchange to approve listing and trading of the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, the weight of the water behind the regulatory dam appears so great at this point that le deluge is inevitable. Even with cryptocurrency exchange-traded products already available in Europe and Canada, a U.S.-listed product could send a shock wave through the investing world. "It...

Australia. Pensions Giant Says Treasury Yields at 3% Will Change Everything

If there’s one core view at the heart of the investment strategy at Australia’s biggest pension fund, it’s that yields still have a long way to rise. The exodus from Treasuries will continue until 10-year yields top out at 3% or so, which would be high enough to imperil economic growth and force the Federal Reserve to respond, according to Carl Astorri, head of asset allocation at AustralianSuper Pty., which manages A$210 billion ($161 billion). He has been further trimming...

Exclusive Coverage: CIOs Assess How Pension Fund Investors Can Be Successful After COVID-19

Strong governance, flexibility over benefit structures, clever investment strategies, and maintaining savvy relations with investment trustees are among the best practices that can help pension funds do well in the post-pandemic era. A panel of four allocators and consultants discussed solutions in CIO’s virtual conference “Inside the Minds of CIOs.” Speakers included pension investment chiefs from Maryland and New Mexico, as well as leaders from Backstop Solutions and Insight Investment. Public pensions face any number of challenges to deliver good returns....