March 2022

U.S. funds remain vigilant over exposure to Russian securities
31Mar

U.S. funds remain vigilant over exposure to Russian securities

U.S. pension funds large and small are monitoring their portfolios for exposure to Russian securities and are asking their money managers to divest those investments as Russia continues to wage war in Ukraine. Members of the investment staff of the $41 billion defined benefit plan of Indiana Public Retirement System, Indianapolis, have been "actively monitoring and managing its Russian-related investments leading into and throughout the invasion into Ukraine," a statement from the fund said. Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb issued an...

March 31, 2022
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Private Equity’s Opaque Costs Mystify the Pensions That Pay Them
30Mar

Private Equity’s Opaque Costs Mystify the Pensions That Pay Them

On top of management fees, investors pay for a variety of funds’ business expenses, from travel to research to “other.” The stewards of billions of dollars in retiree savings are struggling to account for fees charged by one of the wealthiest industries on Wall Street. Investors who put money into a private equity fund expect to pay a management fee as well as a share of their profits to the firm running the fund. But on top of those costs are...

March 30, 2022
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29Mar

A human-centered approach for impact investing in climate action

Climate finance is booming, now reaching over $600 billion in 2020. Yet, as the newest IPCC report makes clear, unequal climate impacts are escalating, making a justice-oriented approach to climate finance more important than ever. The question is: how can funders most effectively and meaningfully implement an intersectional lens to their climate investments? Read also US. SEC takes ‘monumental’ step on climate disclosure Climate justice recognizes that the communities least responsible for creating the climate crisis will be hardest hit by...

March 29, 2022
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AIG shifting $150 billion to BlackRock
29Mar

AIG shifting $150 billion to BlackRock

American International Group hired BlackRock to manage up to $60 billion of its general account and up to $90 billion in its life and retirement investment portfolio, the insurance company announced on Monday. BlackRock will manage "certain liquid fixed income and private placement assets" and also will provide AIG with investment technology for both portfolios via Aladdin, the money manager's risk-management system, the insurer said in a news release. AIG said in the release that the shift of assets to BlackRock...

March 29, 2022
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28Mar

US. Russia blocks NY pension systems from dumping $300M in Moscow stocks

New York’s pension systems want to dump nearly $300 million invested in the Moscow stock market, but can’t because Russia has blocked foreigners from selling shares. Since Russia began its invasion and brutal attacks on Ukraine, the trustees of all five NYC employee pension systems have voted to divest from $185.9 million in Russian companies and securities. “A vicious and unjust war continues to be waged on Ukraine, driving deaths, destruction and displacement of civilians. New Yorkers remain steadfast in solidarity...

March 28, 2022
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28Mar

Ghana. SSNIT to expand coverage to cover more informal sector workers

Director-General of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, has said it's outfit is working to expand coverage of the scheme to cover all workers in the informal sector. According to him, SSNIT has introduced an informal sector pension fund to provide social protection to workers in the informal sector to secure their irregular incomes. Read also Ireland. State to pay €1 for every €3 a worker puts into new auto-enrolment pension scheme Director-General of Social Security and National...

March 28, 2022
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28Mar

US. Kansas Employee Pension System Halts Russia Investments

Trustees who oversee the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System voted Friday to halt future investments in Russian assets amid the country's invasion of Ukraine. While some board members initially pushed for a full divestment, others said they would rather focus on the future and noted the fund’s current holdings in the country have been largely liquidated anyway, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Kansas has $36 million invested in Russian equities, as of Feb. 25. That accounts for about 0.14% of the pension...

March 28, 2022
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25Mar

High Pay Centre briefing: Pension saver views on the social and environmental impact of investments

By Andrew Speke & Luke Hildyard Pension savings make up a significant and growing proportion of individual wealth in the UK. The latest government figures from 2018 show that £2.6 trillion is invested in UK pensions, up from £2.3 trillion in 2015.(1) Pension savings are also one of the most commonly held forms of wealth in the UK. The percentage of adults below the State Pension age actively contributing to a private pension has increased, from 43% in 2012, to 53%...

March 25, 2022
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Over a third of people would accept lower pension savings for ethical investments
25Mar

Over a third of people would accept lower pension savings for ethical investments

More than a third (37 per cent) of people would be willing to accept some reduction in their pension savings if their investments were made more ethically, a study by the High Pay Centre and Survation has found. Read also UK. Creating a sustainable retirement plan Of those surveyed, two-thirds (66 per cent) said that they wanted their pension fund to reflect their ethical values and beliefs. Almost a third (29 per cent) considered insufficient pension savings as the biggest threat to...

March 25, 2022
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UK. Investment approach is increasingly key to pension endgames
25Mar

UK. Investment approach is increasingly key to pension endgames

Aon has said that with 2022 promising to be another active year in the UK pension risk settlement market, an increasing number of schemes are focusing on their investment approach in the bid to be ‘settlement ready’. Aon’s recently released Global Pension Risk Survey 2021/22 showed that more UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are now opting for buyout as their long-term target rather than just self-sufficiency. To prepare for that, schemes are ever more aware that they need to...

March 25, 2022
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