March 2026
25Mar

Oil shock opens pension fund checkbooks for Europe’s climate – er, ‘energy security’ – fund managers

While the conflict with Iran has choked off the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, it has opened the tap from European pension funds and other investors looking to capitalize on increased urgency around the continent’s energy security. Clean energy and other infrastructure project developers, along with climate tech fund managers, are finding a suddenly more welcoming reception from institutional investors in Europe, even as dealmaking in the Middle East itself has stalled (see, “Middle East sovereign wealth financed...

March 25, 2026
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24Mar

Germany eyes boost in pension investment via global equities

The German government, policymakers and occupational industry stakeholders are seeking to channel more pension savings into global equity markets to support economic growth. Michael Schrodi, parliamentary state secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance, said the government aims to reach the widest possible audience to encourage greater capital market investment and build “future-proof” occupational and private pensions. The second-pillar reform lays the groundwork for broader adoption of defined contribution (DC) plans and higher-yield occupational pensions among low earners. Meanwhile, a public...

March 24, 2026
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20Mar

War and Pensions: The Effects of War on Social Security and Pensions Around the World

By John A. Turner, David Rajnes, Gerard Hughes & Maher Michelle War has affected the development of social security and employer-provided pensions. Roman soldiers received the first pensions. In most countries, military pensions preceded social security pensions, providing countries experience with the concept and administration of pensions. War or the threat of war affected the development of the two major branches of social insurance-based pensions—Bismarckian (earnings related pensions developed in Germany) and Beveridgian (pensions tied to years of work developed...

March 20, 2026
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20Mar

Universal Owner and Impact of Its Engagement Program: An Analysis of Engagement Records of Japan’s GPIF

By Masahiro Shibata & Kazunori Suzuki This study examines the impact of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) engagement program, leveraging a proprietary dataset of 26,792 engagements across 21 externally managed funds from fiscal years 2017 to 2022. As one of the largest universal owners globally, GPIF plays a pivotal role in influencing corporate behavior through structured engagements aimed at improving corporate governance, environmental sustainability, and financial performance. Despite growing global interest in engagement-driven stewardship, empirical evidence on its effectiveness...

March 20, 2026
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20Mar

US. How Pension Funds Can Support Growth and Build an Economy That Benefits Workers

Private equity firms have increasingly come under fire for actions that are making life more difficult and unaffordable, such as driving up the prices of single-family homes, closing hospitals that aren’t profitable enough, and laying off workers at companies they have purchased. New efforts by public pension funds are hoping to counter these bad practices and instead promote investments that benefit communities and workers. Public pension funds have the ability to drive investment in our economy to promote shared prosperity while seeking competitive risk-adjusted returns....

March 20, 2026
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19Mar

UK. Pensions and savings hammered as threat of ‘full-scale economic war’ sends shares tumbling

More than £50billion was wiped off the value of the London stock market today – taking losses since the start of the war on Iran to £225billion. On a brutal day for savers with money tied up in shares through their pensions, ISAs and other investments, the FTSE 100 index tumbled more than 200 points or 2 per cent in early trading. The wider FTSE All-share – which includes smaller companies on the London stock market as well as the 100 blue chips...

March 19, 2026
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18Mar

UK pension investors cut US exposures amid global volatility

UK institutional investors responded to last year’s trade, tariff and geopolitical disruption with selective changes rather than wholesale portfolio resets, according to new research. Figures from Nuveen’s 2026 EQuilibrium Global Institutional Investor Survey showed that 11% of UK investors made significant portfolio changes in response to the disruptions of 2025, the second-highest proportion globally. But the survey also suggests investors did not see the year simply as a source of risk: 73% said 2025 delivered more upside than downside to their...

March 18, 2026
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18Mar

More than half of Gen X heading for ‘pension shock’

More than half of Generation X are heading for inadequate retirement incomes, with 7.5 million people facing a potential “pension shock” when they retire, the Social Market Foundation (SMF) has warned. The report found that 54 per cent of Gen X - those born between 1965 and 1980 - were projected to have retirement incomes below what is needed to maintain their current standard of living or meet basic living costs. The research, based on a survey of more than 2,000...

March 18, 2026
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17Mar

UK. Govt urged to carefully consider interventions in pension scheme investment

The government should carefully consider any intervention in domestic pension scheme investment and identify the specific ‘market failures’ it intends to address, a joint report from Frontier Economics and LCP has argued. The UK pension schemes and productive finance – a framework for effective intervention report argued there was no clear case for the government to override trustees’ judgments when acting in member interest, or to set top-down targets for total levels of ‘productive’ investment. It highlighted there were big differences in investment...

March 17, 2026
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17Mar

Ghanaian pension funds to invest $11m in Atlantic Lithium as Ewoyaa Project gains momentum

A consortium of Ghanaian pension funds has committed millions of dollars to Atlantic Lithium, marking a landmark domestic investment in what is expected to become Ghana’s first lithium-producing mine and signalling growing local confidence in the country’s emerging critical minerals sector. The investment, valued at up to US$11 million, forms part of a broader funding package of about US$16.4 million secured by the company to advance its flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project toward construction and production. The Ghanaian institutional investors, managed by...

March 17, 2026
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