May 2021

US. Strong Stock Market Boosts 401(k) Investors’ Equity Exposure

A surging stock market, coupled with slow and steady trades into equities, brought 401(k) investors in April to their highest level of equity exposure since 2001, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) index. During the month, nearly all the trading days favored equities over fixed income; four days favored fixed income funds, and 17 days favored equity funds. Also of note was the fact that April has no days of above-normal trading activity. The average net trading activity was a mere...

US. How Mass Retirement Is Affecting the Bond Market

Public work is a different ballgame, but in the private sector, defined benefit pensions have largely been replaced by 401(k) plans. However, there's still a massive amount of pension liabilities floating around in the market, and with mass retirement setting in, how those funds are managed can affect retirees everywhere – regardless of work history. Read also US. Biden’s $86 Billion Pension Rescue Set to Boost Corporate Bonds “There remains $1.8 trillion in assets in the largest 100 public companies’ pension...

April 2021

Preqin Markets in Focus: Latin America’s Growing Appetite for Alternative Assets

Changing demographics, policy shifts, and a growing base of highly sophisticated investors make Latin America an increasingly attractive source for private capital. Likewise, local institutional investors in Latin America are eager to put capital to work with top performing fund managers, both inside and outside the region, with an emphasis on absolute return. Where do GPs believe the best opportunities can be found? Preqin is delighted to bring Latin American alternatives markets into the spotlight with our new report, combining comprehensive...

March 2021

“Pensions for women, the challenges ahead. International Women’s Day Selection of News and Research”

UK. Pension challenges women face will impact on their retirement 03/12/21 March 8 marks International Women’s Day and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Ghana. Low financial literacy responsible for low patronage of pensions by women and informal workers 03/12/21 A Compliance officer with the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) says low financial literacy is the cause of low patronage of the pension scheme among women and people in the informal sector. Taking a workforce break to raise children...

January 2021

Nigeria. Pension funds take up investing in Bitcoin

Pension funds have already begun investing in the world’s most popular crypto asset, Bitcoin, according to the biggest crypto hedge fund firm, popularly known as Grayscale. In a recent Bloomberg interview, Grayscale CEO, Sonnenshein, disclosed on the pension industry joining hedge funds and other institutional firms in gaining exposure to Bitcoin through his firm portfolio, better known as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. We’ve started to see participation not just from the hedge fund segment, which we’ve long seen participation from,...

September 2020

US. Pension fund, MIT launch social investing project

The Massachusetts state pension fund is teaming up with the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative to try to improve the data available to investors who want to make decisions based on things like the way a company treats its workers, its carbon emissions or its product safety record. As socially responsible investing expands rapidly across the globe, the Aggregate Confusion Project with the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board aims to cut through the noise around Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)...

Managers Of $40 Trillion Make Plans To Decarbonize The World

The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) is a European group of global pension funds and investment managers, totaling over 1,200 members in 16 countries, who control more than $40 trillion in assets (€33 trillion). They have drawn up a plan to cut carbon in their portfolios to net-zero and hope other investors will join them. Read also One of Sweden’s Biggest Investors Starts ESG Pressure Campaign The group’s mission is to mobilize capital for a global low-carbon transition...

August 2020

South Africa. Govt won’t force pensions to be invested in infrastructure projects, says deputy fin minister

- Government does not intend to force pensions to be invested in certain assets, says Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo. - Amendments to regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act is purely to broaden the scope of investments trustees of funds can consider, he said. - Masondo says trustees have a fiduciary duty to deliver better returns to members of funds. Government has no intention of forcing pension funds to invest in specified projects or assets which...

US. A$1.6 Trillion Pension Fund Gap – Is Infrastructure Investment The Answer?

The U.S. is a superpower in the pension fund world, controlling more than 50% of global assets, and yet a recent Financial Times article identified a $1.6 trillion dollar funding gap as a grave threat to the U.S. economy. Read also US. The Future for ESG Investing in Retirement Plans For the last 15 years, as Canadian and Australian pension funds have returned on average nearly 5% per year, and often much more, their U.S. counterparts have averaged returns of...

What Are The 5 Biggest Retirement Planning Mistakes?

Well, the biggest blunder is not saving enough money. No one wants to outlive their nest egg. The rest of the list is more subtle. According to Certified Financial Planner Darren Zaragola, common mistakes include: Mistake #1: Believing it is Too Late to Start Planning and Saving It is never too late to develop good habits and start saving for retirement. You do not have to “go without” to save. Every little bit helps, especially if you can take...