February 2026
03Feb

US. Trump is pushing to include risky assets like crypto and private equity in 401(k)s

In an executive order dated August 7, 2025, President Trump called for a reexamination of regulations and guidance for retirement plans. Trump asked regulators to encourage retirement plan administrators to include risky options like alternative assets (or “alts”) in 401(k) and similar retirement plans. Alternative assets could be funds invested in private equity and cryptocurrencies, assets that lack strict regulation and whose value and risk can be hard to assess compared with other types of investments. Because of this, many consider...

February 3, 2026
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January 2026
30Jan

UK. Pension funds and the drive for greater domestic investments – the international perspective

Domestic investment initiatives from governments are on the rise as governments around the world are recognising the opportunity pension funds present to boost economic growth. However, the push for increased domestic investment by pension funds has not avoided criticism - with concerns being raised on the impact to members' best interests. The UK, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands are all countries pursuing the use of pension funds to boost domestic growth in specific sectors. The UK approach The UK has been...

January 30, 2026
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29Jan

US. South Dakota Bill Eyes Bitcoin for State Funds

This is a sign of how digital assets are edging closer to mainstream finance in the United States. This debate offers a clear window into how Bitcoin is starting to look less like a fringe bet and more like a strategic reserve asset at the state level. What the South Dakota Bill Actually Does The new proposal in South Dakota would allow the State Investment Council to allocate up to 10% of eligible public funds into Bitcoin, including pensions, trusts, and endowments that together...

January 29, 2026
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28Jan

Canadian pensions diverging in climate approach: report

An advocacy group says there’s an increasing divergence on how big public pensions in Canada are approaching climate action. The group, called Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, says in its annual ranking that La Caisse is showing the best results yet while CPPIB is falling behind. Shift says it lowered CPPIB’s ranking because the pension giant removed its stated net-zero goal, has a lack of clarity on a climate strategy and continues to invest in fossil fuels. CPPIB, which...

January 28, 2026
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27Jan

Why Latin America funds are on a hot streak

Brazil’s stock market index, the Ibovespa, rose by 8.5% last week, taking its month-to-date gain to 11% and extending the momentum built up over the course of last year. After a difficult 2024, when it fell by 10%, the Brazilian market recovered strongly in 2025. Global interest rates had started to ease and investors were turning back towards emerging markets in search of higher returns. The index ended the year up 34%. Overseas investors would have seen even larger gains as Brazil’s...

January 27, 2026
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26Jan

Colombian Pension Manager Plans Bitcoin Exposure Fund

AFP Protección, a private pension and severance fund manager in Colombia, is preparing to launch a fund with exposure to bitcoin. The plan was confirmed by company president Juan David Correa in an interview. How access will work Participation will be offered through a personalized advisory process. That process will assess an investor’s risk profile. Only clients who meet the criteria will be able to allocate a percentage of their portfolio to bitcoin. A second major pension firm to add bitcoin Protección’s move follows a similar...

January 26, 2026
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23Jan

Decoding Pension Funds: Sustainability Indicators for Annual Report Analysis

By Leticia Martins Medeiros, Clea Beatriz Macagnan & Rosane Maria Seibert Pension funds’ growth highlights the need to emphasize fiduciary duty and investment sustainability, considering the current and future participants’ interests (priority stakeholders) and systemic risk reduction (environmental, social, economic, and governance effects). Therefore, this study builds sustainability indicators based on the interests of pension fund stakeholders. The methodology comprised five stages: the first consisted of analyzing Annual Information Reports to create a preliminary list of indicators; the second involved...

January 23, 2026
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23Jan

Global Pension Assets Study – 2025

By Thinking Ahead Institute The Global Pension Assets Study estimates global pension fund assets across 22 major pension markets (the P22). These geographies now stand at US$58.5 trillion in pension assets and account for 68% of the GDP of these economies. The study, conducted by WTW and the Thinking Ahead Institute since the 1990s, includes an analysis of the seven largest markets (the P7): Australia, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and the US, which comprise 91% of total pension assets. Pension...

January 23, 2026
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23Jan

Canada Pension Plan’s investment arm criticized over funding for Elon Musk’s xAI, maker of Grok

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is facing criticism for having provided $300 million US for the funding of infrastructure for Elon Musk's xAI, the company behind the controversial Grok artificial intelligence chatbot tool. Musk's xAI has been at the centre of controversy in recent months, after it was discovered that Grok made it possible for people to create sexualized and nonconsensual images of others — including minors. Amid widespread backlash, xAI put some restrictions in place on the...

January 23, 2026
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22Jan

Exposure to US assets ‘increasingly uncomfortable’ for pension trustees

UK pension schemes’ exposure to US assets has become an “increasingly uncomfortable contradiction” for trustees, Isio chief investment officer, Barry Jones, has said. In a statement marking the anniversary of President, Donald Trump’s, second inauguration, Jones noted that the US market represented the majority of global equity market opportunity and continued to deliver strong returns. However, aspects of the political and regulatory direction of the US administration over the past year were sitting uneasily with the environmental, social, and governance (ESG)...

January 22, 2026
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