October 2021
07Oct

BlackRock Adds Annuity Product to Meet Participant Demand

BlackRock’s annuity product just got a lot more popular. The New York-based investment management company announced that five plan sponsors, representing $7.5 billion in target date investments, are electing to use BlackRock’s annuity product as their default investment option in company retirement plans. BlackRock is anticipating a 2022 adoption by the plans of its LifePath Paycheck, which will affect 120,000 U.S.-based 401k plan participants, including those in the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System. The announcement comes on the heels of its...

October 7, 2021
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September 2021
30Sep

Japan’s GPIF won’t buy China’s sovereign debt

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, the world's largest pension fund, said it won't include yuan-denominated Chinese sovereign debt in its portfolio. The decision comes as FTSE Russell is set to start adding Chinese debt to its benchmark global bond index, which the GPIF follows, starting in October. The pension fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond index that excludes Chinese government bonds, Hiroshi Nagaoka, an official at the pension fund, told Bloomberg News. Minutes from a July...

September 30, 2021
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30Sep

Pension fund and other investors with $4 trln assets aim to tackle Asian firms on climate change goals

A group of six investors with a combined $4 trillion of assets under management, including Fidelity International, said on Wednesday it aims to step up engagement with big Asian companies like banks and energy producers to ensure they have a road map to meet climate change targets. Initial engagement will focus on carbon risk and coal at banks and coal-exposed power companies, the group of investors, facilitated by Singapore-based advisor Asia Research & Engagement (ARE), said in a statement. The move...

September 30, 2021
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30Sep

Impact Investing: Embracing Change and Optimizing Long-Term Value

Expectations for the behavior of institutional investors are changing. As societies around the world deal with the challenges of climate change, a global pandemic, social upheaval and other adversities, institutional investors are being asked to take a much more expansive view of risk than many traditional investment models currently account for. Increasingly, this includes optimizing their investments and overall portfolio for environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact. According to Nuveen’s annual survey of institutional investors, almost 70% of investors indicated...

September 30, 2021
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20Sep

Changing energy landscape fuels infrastructure investing

Asset owners are pushing hard into renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure while still committing capital to other projects supporting the fossil-fuel energy segment, albeit at lower levels. Sustainability is a big theme right now as investors become more attuned to the risks and investment opportunities inherent in a changing energy environment. At the same time, they are attracted to infrastructure as a whole to shield their portfolios from inflation threats and potential increases in interest rates. As a result, infrastructure fundraising...

September 20, 2021
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20Sep

Texas pension funds receive lessons on cryptocurrency

Although cryptocurrencies aren't a common asset found within pension plan portfolios, a non-profit educational organization for Texas-based retirement fund officials and service providers is keen to show plan sponsors how digital assets could become a staple in their investment pools. At its annual Summer Educational Forum held in August, the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems featured two panels discussing the basics of institutional investors allocating to digital assets. In addition to holding a "Cryptocurrency 101" session hosted by Mannik...

September 20, 2021
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17Sep

Retirement Benefits Sector Report 2020

By URBRA URBRA’s supervisory approach is focused on the particular characteristics of each supervised entity. The approach has key and consistent underlying themes focusing on: • a detailed understanding of the strengths, weaknesses and major risks facing supervised entities through rigorous off-site and on-site analysis, and strategic discussions with trustees and service providers; • ensuring that supervised entities are effective in their operations, and constantly demonstrate that they are financially sound and prudently managed.   Get the book here 516 views

September 17, 2021
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17Sep

Should ESG Funds Be In Retirement Plans?

Investors are pouring record amounts of money into mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that screen holdings based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Read also Study: As a population gets older, automation accelerates Yet, odds are most people won’t find an ESG fund option in their 401(k) retirement-savings plan. Just 2.6% of 401(k) plans had an ESG option in 2019, according to the latest data from the Plan Sponsor Council of America. Read also Canada’s third-largest pension fund beefs ups plan...

September 17, 2021
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13Sep

New U.S. Hedge Fund Taps Japan Pension Cash to Bet on Stocks

U.S. investment advisory firm GSB Capital LLC has started a hedge fund focusing on Japanese stocks, using seed money provided by a corporate pension fund in the Asian nation. The GSB Japan Equity Long Short Fund targets mid- and large-cap Japanese shares, buying equity of companies with attractive fundamentals while shorting those with a poor outlook, a statement showed Monday. It aims to raise a maximum of $650 million, the firm said, without naming the seed-capital provider. Pressured by rock-bottom interest...

September 13, 2021
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09Sep

APG launches first index funds to tap Dutch sustainability drive

APG Asset Management, the largest pension fund provider in the Netherlands, said on Wednesday it would begin offering index products and said its fund clients had pledged an initial 1 billion euros ($1.19 billion) to a low-carbon strategy. APG's asset management unit oversees around 613 billion euros on behalf of pension schemes and companies, serving 4.7 million members in sectors from cleaning to construction. In partnership with index provider Qontigo, part of Deutsche Boerse, and with BlackRock, the world's biggest asset...

September 9, 2021
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