February 2021
17Feb

ESG-Conscious Money Managers Are Pension Funds’ Top Consideration

Pension funds and insurers are now looking for more socially responsible money managers. According to a recent global poll conducted by Bfinance, over 60% of pension funds and insurers said they were unlikely to hire an equity manager who is not a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, the world’s biggest industry body for sustainable investing, Bloomberg reports. The survey also showed that about a third of respondents wouldn’t appoint a hedge fund manager that lacked gender or ethnic diversity...

February 17, 2021
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16Feb

€573bn Dutch pension group appoints first female CEO

Dutch pension group APG has appointed Annette Mosman as chief executive officer, the firm has announced. Mosman will assume the role on 1 March 2021 succeeding Gerard van Olphen, who will be stepping down in April of this year for personal reasons. Mosman is a member of the board of directors and has been chief finance and risk officer since February 2018. She will also be the firm’s first female CEO. Pieter Jongstra, chairman of the supervisory board, said: ‘For the pension...

February 16, 2021
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16Feb

​EC’s sustainable governance play: Asset owners wary of potential snags

The idea of drawing up EU rules to ensure companies embed sustainability into the way they operate has met with steady applause from pensions and asset management industry representatives – as well as warnings of potential unintended consequences. Read also Spain Counts on Citizens to Buy Into Revolution for Pensions Questions put out by the European Commission in its consultation on an initiative on sustainable corporate governance – which closed in early February – centred around topics such as directors’ duty...

February 16, 2021
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November 2019

14Nov

Australia. A 24-Year-Old Is Suing Pension Fund for Not Being Green Enough

Mark McVeigh, a 24-year-old environmental scientist from Australia, won’t be able to access his retirement savings until 2055. But, concerned about what the world may look like then, he’s taking action now, suing his A$57 billion ($39 billion) pension fund for not adequately disclosing or assessing the impact of climate change on its investments. The Federal Court battle is shaping up to be a unique test case. Are pension funds in breach of their fiduciary duties by failing to...

November 14, 2019
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04Nov

UK. NHS misses deadline for staff pension statements

The NHS missed its three-month deadline for issuing pension statements to more than 4,000 staff this year as the service struggles to cope with requests from doctors worried about tax bills. Between January and September, the NHS pension scheme received 15,200 requests from hospital consultants for an annual allowance statement, which is needed to assess their tax position. But one in four of those requests — or 3,824 — were not completed within the target timeframe, according to a...

November 4, 2019
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04Nov

Shift: Digital Marketing Secrets of Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors

By Jeremiah D Desmarais Insurance agents and financial advisors are being taught outdated marketing and sales strategies to grow their businesses. Cold calling, seminars, online leads, networking groups and display ads are showing less returns. At the same time, according to Google, every 5 seconds someone is searching for a financial or insurance product to meet their needs, yet most agents are unaware of how to reach this growing market. Shift is a compilation of exclusive, rarely-before-seen techniques, strategies and best practices used...

November 4, 2019
Books, Books, Pension Management
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October 2019

22Oct

IOPS Supervisory Guidelines on the Integration of ESG Factors in the Investment and Risk Management of Pension Funds

Published today, IOPS Supervisory guidelines on the integration of ESG factors in the investment and risk management of pension funds highlight a range of challenges to be met by pension funds governing bodies, asset managers and pension supervisors. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are key and timely issues for the investment and risk management of pension funds, whose consideration is relatively new in the landscape of regulatory frameworks of pension funds worldwide. They are also dynamically evolving and...

October 22, 2019
Books, Investment, Pension Management, Regulation, , , ,
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21Oct

Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index 2019 (MMGPI)

Ageing populations continue to be a significant issue for many economies as we are living longer and fertility rates continue to decline. Pension systems are becoming more important than ever as households want to maintain their living standards throughout retirement. But how is this possible, especially within the economic environment of low interest rates and reduced economic growth? There are implications for employers, employees, governments, as well as the pension funds. Pension reform is being considered in many countries,...

October 21, 2019
Adequacy, Books, Reports, Slider-Left, Sustainability, , ,
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11Oct

Defined Contribution Plans: Key Information on Target Date Funds as Default Investments Should Be Provided to Plan Sponsors and Participants: Report to Congressional Requesters.

By U S Government Accountability Office Enroll workers, in 2007 the Department of Labor (DOL) identified three qualified default investment alternatives. One of these optionstarget date funds (TDF)has emerged as by far the most popular default investment. TDFs are designed to provide an age-appropriate asset allocation for plan participants over time.Because of recent concerns about significant losses in and differences in the performance of some TDFs, GAO was asked address the following questions: (1) To what extent do the...

October 11, 2019
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11Oct

Defined Benefit Pension De-Risking and Corporate Investment Policy

By Brian Silverstein U.S. corporate sponsors of defined benefit pension plans in recent years have been de-risking by paying premiums to transfer their pension plan assets and liabilities to the balance sheets of third party insurers. The passage of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) in 2012 provided the pension funding relief necessary to make de-risking a mainstream corporate activity. This study provides the first empirical analysis of plan and firm factors that cause...

October 11, 2019
Articles, Investment, Pension design,
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