May 2020
21May

Large European companies fall short on ESG disclosure – report

Many of Europe's largest public companies are not adequately disclosing their environmental and climate-related risks, according to a report being released Tuesday by the Climate Disclosure Standards Board. The CDSB looked at Europe's 50 largest companies, with a combined market cap of $4.3 trillion, and found that in 2019, despite European Union reporting guidelines, 78% of them did not adequately report climate and environmental risks, and 42% omitted potentially material environmental or climate-related information for their sector. Also, 1...

May 21, 2020
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21May

India. Lack of social security for women in informal economy needs to be addressed

It was in the middle of the second lockdown. Ayeshaben, a home-based garment worker suddenly experienced chest pain. Her son, Asif, a tailor, requested one of his customers to take his mother in his rickshaw to the hospital. Thankfully, Ayeshaben has been taking insurance cover with SEWA’s insurance cooperative, VimoSEWA, for the last 15 years. Her claim of Rs 5,000 was processed online after Asif sent all her documents via WhatsApp. There are millions of Ayeshabens in this country....

May 21, 2020
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21May

Latvian prime minister admits need to review retirement pension system

State Audit has concluded the retirement pension system costs the state budget EUR 74 million annually, but the amount of commitments or the amount needed to pay retirement pensions in the future is estimated at EUR 4.5 billion. State auditor Elita Krūmiņa pointed towards problems uncovered in the retirement pension system, urging to review it. Commenting on State Audit’s conclusions, Kariņš admitted the retirement pension system should be reviewed. However, specific proposals, he said, should come from Welfare Ministry....

May 21, 2020
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21May

How COVID-19 impacts asset allocation strategy of pension funds

The National Bureau of Statistics is expected to release Nigeria’s pension asset data for the first quarter of the year, next week. Ahead of the release, we’ll take a look at how the global Covid-19 pandemic is impacting the asset allocation strategy for pension fund administrators. Joining CNBC Africa more is Niyi Falade, CEO of Crusader Sterling Pensions. Watch video @CN Africa

May 21, 2020
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20May

World Bank Group: 100 Countries Get Support in Response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

The World Bank Group today announced its emergency operations to fight COVID-19 (coronavirus) have reached 100 developing countries – home to 70% of the world’s population. Since March, the Bank Group has rapidly delivered record levels of support in order to help countries protect the poor and vulnerable, reinforce health systems, maintain the private sector, and bolster economic recovery. This assistance, the largest and fastest crisis response in the Bank Group’s history, marks a milestone in implementing the Bank...

May 20, 2020
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20May

UK. True scale of pension scams unknown, think tank warns

The "true scale" of pension scams remains unknown as only a minority are reported and data is not collected in comparable ways across the industry, the Pensions Policy Institute has warned. A policy paper from the PPI, published yesterday (May 19), found data available about the number of scams taking place across the industry, as well as the amount lost in each scam, did not offer a comprehensive view of the true scale of the issue. It warned this...

May 20, 2020
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20May

Did Coronavirus Destroy The FIRE (Early Retirement) Movement?

If you’re a member of the FIRE movement, you may be justifiably concerned about the economic and financial turmoil of the past few months. Most members of the movement have no experience with a serious downturn, at least not since retiring early. Read also How to Motivate Young Workers to Save For Retirement If you’re not familiar with the FIRE movement, it’s a moniker for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Participants in the movement use a combination of high income, radically...

May 20, 2020
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20May

Canada. How are pension plan sponsors’ fiduciary duties evolving in the time of coronavirus?

While the coronavirus pandemic certainly doesn’t change pension plan sponsors’ fundamental fiduciary duty to their plan members, the crisis is creating circumstances that will test how that responsibility manifests. Fiduciary duty arises when one party has a certain vulnerability in respect to another party, said Kenneth Burns, partner at Lawson Lundell LLP, in a webinar roundtable hosted by the Association of Canadian Pension Management on Thursday. In a pension context, plan sponsors have a fiduciary duty to their members...

May 20, 2020
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19May

ESG regulations and their impact on advice

There are regulatory changes afoot in the world of responsible investment, which are going to have a fundamental impact on the advice process. Since 2018, there have been over 170 ESG (environmental, social and governance) related regulatory measures proposed globally - that is more than the previous six years combined. In 2018, the European Union also published a recommendation to make ESG investing easier across Europe. This was through the European Commission making a formal request to the...

May 19, 2020
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19May

US. How Lawmakers Can Raise Teacher Pay Without Decimating Pension Funds

When the pandemic hit, school districts across the country were in the process of giving their teachers a raise. But hiking teacher salaries now will strain state pension funds at a time when the economic fallout from the coronavirus is decimating public pension systems. In March, Moody’s Investment Service said U.S. public pension funds had already suffered nearly $1 trillion in investment losses. Lawmakers can’t make lost assets reappear. But they can take a step that will reduce future...

May 19, 2020
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