Investment Archives - Page 100 of 154 - Pension Policy International

29AprApril 29, 2022

US. Companies Look to Diversify Their Pension Investments as Funding Levels Soar

Companies are looking for alternative investment options for their pension plan funds—for example, high-quality private credit—as they look to diversify their holdings amid high funding levels. Businesses in recent years have invested a greater proportion of their plans in fixed-income securities, which are considered safer bets than assets such as equities, commodities, private equity and real estate. S&P 1500 companies invested 51% of their plan funds in fixed income in 2021, up from 50% a year earlier and 42% a...

April 29, 2022

News2022, Funding, Investment, US

28AprApril 28, 2022

Global Pension Finance Watch: First quarter 2022

By Nathan Pavlik & David Finn The sharp increase in discount rates drove positive first quarter pension index results for all regions. Asset returns were negative for all regions except Brazil for the quarter which partially offset the liability gains. Inflationary impact were most pronounced in the UK where plans provide annual pension increases based in inflationary indicators. The overall impact of these changes resulted in positive pension index returns for all markets during the first quarter. While it is always...

April 28, 2022

Books, Pension Management, Reports, System Characterization2022, Funding, Investment, Risk

28AprApril 28, 2022

Q1 Was a Bad Quarter for Pension Investors, Says Willis Towers Watson Report

Pensions around the world had a rough first quarter, according to a new Willis Towers Watson report. The report lists the average returns and liability increases of Brazil, Canada, the Eurozone, Japan, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S. U.K. pensions took the biggest hit in Q1, with an average negative investment return of 9.9%. Discount rate benchmarks increased this quarter in all regions. Brazil has the highest average discount rate of 9.87%, followed by the U.S. and Canada with 3.93%...

April 28, 2022

NewsInvestment, Pension Management

27AprApril 27, 2022

US. New York City Wants to Amp Up Risk in Workers’ Pensions

New York City’s comptroller is the latest public official trying to change laws aimed at limiting risk in pension investments, as U.S. state and local pension funds try to plug shortfalls in a low-return environment. Comptroller Brad Lander, who oversees about $260 billion in retirement money for city police, firefighters, teachers and other public workers, is asking New York lawmakers for more flexibility to invest in private markets, high-yield debt and foreign stocks. The state comptroller’s office, which supervises another...

April 27, 2022

News2022, Investment, Regulation, US

26AprApril 26, 2022

French President Macron’s re-election is muted good news for markets

French President Emmanuel Macron's re-election victory Sunday should see financial markets "breathe a collective sigh of relief," but Russia's invasion of Ukraine has not erased concerns in Europe, said Seema Shah, chief strategist with Principal Global Investors. Having Mr. Macron serve another term "is good news for the euro, French bond spreads and the share prices of French banks, (but) it is hard to see much upside for these assets in the near term given the broader macro outlook in...

April 26, 2022

News2022, France, Investment

26AprApril 26, 2022

US. Fidelity Pension Plan Will Allow Employees to Invest in Bitcoin

Fidelity Investments, the United States’ biggest provider of 401(k) pension plans, will let participants choose to keep money in bitcoin (BTC), but only if their employers let them. 401(k) plans are employer-sponsored defined-contribution pension accounts, and Fidelity, per 2020 figures compiled by the researcher Cerulli Associates, has USD 2.4 trillion locked into 401(k) accounts. That figure, the New York Times pointed out, represents over a third of the domestic market. On its website, Fidelity explained that its “new proprietary offering” was...

April 26, 2022

News2022, Innovation, Investment, US

26AprApril 26, 2022

UK. Aegon investing £3bn in BlackRock ESG range

Aegon is investing £3bn of its default funds into a range of ESG index funds launched by BlackRock. The firms worked together on the iShares range, which includes six ESG equity income index funds which track Morningstar’s regional and country-specific indices. The change means that ESG exposure in the Aegon workplace default fund will double to 60 per cent for investors in the growth stage of their retirement savings, and to 40 per cent for those in retirement. A number of other...

April 26, 2022

News2022, ESG, Investment, UK

22AprApril 22, 2022

US. Amazon faces new activism from pension funds in New York over worker safety

A group of New York city and state pension funds that collectively own more than $5 billion of Amazon.com Inc. stock are urging fellow shareholders to vote against re-election of two board members for what the institutions say are failures to adequately protect worker safety. New York City’s pension fund, which represents the teachers, police department, fire department and other unions, has paired up with New York state’s pension fund and the office of the Illinois state treasurer to vote...

April 22, 2022

News2022, Investment, US

20AprApril 20, 2022

What does the future of ESG disclosure look like?

For trustees, the rise of environmental, social and governance factors within the pensions sector has resulted in a shift in agendas, with compliance and regulatory matters growing in prominence. Fifty-three per cent of trustee boards now consider ESG an important agenda item, according to research produced by the Pensions Management Institute and BMO Global Asset Management in 2021. This is up markedly from 2020, when ESG was important for just 29 per cent of trustee boards. With current regulatory shifts and changes...

April 20, 2022

News2022, ESG, Investment

20AprApril 20, 2022

ESG, SRI, Impact Investing: What Are They, How to Get Started, and How Funds Have Performed

What is ESG, SRI, and impact investing, and how have ESG funds performed? ESG, SRI, and impact investing may seem like last decade's buzzwords, but they now have enough capital and data behind them for investors to pay attention to. ESG stands for environmental, social, and (corporate) governance. ESG investors look for companies that lead in those areas in addition to strong financial returns. Broadly speaking, ESG investors, socially responsible investors (SRI), and impact investors invest in companies that are both financial...

April 20, 2022

News2022, Coporate governance, ESG, Investment

April 2022