May 2021
21May

Japan’s Number Two Pension Fund to Post Best Returns in 20 Years

Japan’s second-largest pension fund said it expects to post the best returns since 2001 on the back of the global equity market’s rally and is looking to expand sustainable investing. Returns likely exceeded 20% in the the year ended March, said Shigemune Sato, the director-general of the fund management department at the Pension Fund Association for Local Government Officials. The fund, known as Chikyoren, tracks the portfolio of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest pension pot, and is...

May 21, 2021
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21May

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board eyes assets in shift to clean energy

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is hunting for investments in the world’s transition to renewable energy as it aspires to be a global leader in sustainability, the head of the company told Reuters on Thursday. “One of the keys here is investing in the transition with a view that for the world to transition to a zero carbon world, many of the existing conventional players are going to be leaders in the future,” John Graham, president and chief...

May 21, 2021
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19May

Investing in an Ageing Population

The world’s population is undeniably ageing. By 2050 there are likely to be 1.5 billion people aged 65 or over on the planet, up from 703 million in 2019. A report by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs estimates that by 2100 some 61% of the world’s population will be over 65. Already today, those in this age group represent more than a fifth of the population in 17 countries and by 2100 this will be...

May 19, 2021
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18May

UK pension fund USS buys half of 4-GW solar platform in Spain

UK private pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), has made a deal to acquire a 50% stake in Spain-based renewables platform Bruc Energy, it was announced on Monday. Bruc Energy operates as an investment vehicle of Spanish fund manager Bruc Management and is focused on solar photovoltaic (PV) assets in Spain and Portugal. The vehicle is co-owned by Canadian pension fund OPTrust and Juan Bejar, Spanish businessman and chairman of Bruc Management. USS has invested EUR 225 million (USD 273m)...

May 18, 2021
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14May

NFTs And Your Retirement Account

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been a hot asset class in 2021. Through the end of March, the combined market cap of major NFT projects was up 1,785%, year to date. As the name suggests, a non-fungible asset is meant to be a unique asset that is non-fungible. This means an NFT cannot be interchanged with other assets of the same type. This is what is particularly exciting about them for many investors. Each NFT is made up of information that...

May 14, 2021
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13May

Have scale effects on cost margins of pension fund investment portfolios disappeared?

By Jacob Antoon Bikker, Jeroen Meringa Investment costs of pension funds are crucial for their returns. Consolidation in the pension fund market proceeds continuously, often with cost savings as the main argument. Unused economies of scale in the pension fund investment costs, however, have declined over the years to values close to zero, except for the very small pension funds. This paper investigates investment economies of scale in the Netherlands and pays special attention to the non-linear relationship between investment...

May 13, 2021
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06May

Germany hatches plan to attract green investment capital

The German government is planning a new green financing strategy to steer capital towards environmental projects and developing Germany into a leading hub for sustainable finance, plans seen by Reuters show. The so-called Sustainable Finance Strategy plan lists 26 individual measures and is due to be adopted by the cabinet on Wednesday with a view to mobilising investment for climate protection projects. "The federal government wants to develop Germany into a leading location for sustainable finance," states the plan, which is...

May 6, 2021
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04May

Union Demands CPPIB Ditch Brazil Water Privatization Involvement

Canada’s largest union is demanding that the $387.1 billion Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) abandon its investment in a private water and sewage treatment service provider in Brazil. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said CPPIB is taking part in a “risky” sell-off of public water and sewage infrastructure being led by controversial President Jair Bolsonaro. “The involvement of the CPPIB in support of Bolsonaro’s privatization program would serve to legitimize his disregard for the needs of the...

May 4, 2021
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03May

How One of Canada’s Largest Pension Funds Is Incorporating ESG in Its Portfolio

As allocators and fund managers alike scramble to incorporate diversity and climate change into their strategies, one of Canada’s largest asset owners has released its latest report on how, exactly, a C$365.5 billion pension fund does it. The Stewardship Report, released Wednesday by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (known colloquially as CPDQ), details the fund’s 2020 efforts toward sustainability and diversity. In the report, CPDQ said it is tying employees’ variable compensation to the achievement of certain climate targets...

May 3, 2021
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03May

Japan. GPIF looks to study private equity replication

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund may be mulling changes to an alternatives investment program that's been cautiously deliberate until now. On April 20, the ¥177.7 trillion ($1.63 trillion) Tokyo-based giant made two separate announcements speaking to potential changes: the first was a callout for information from managers of domestic real estate, a sign GPIF could be moving beyond the fund-of-funds platforms it's focused on in recent years to directly hire general partners; the second was a paper exploring ways to...

May 3, 2021
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