April 2021
01Apr

Latin America: A Growing Appetite for Alternative Assets

Preqin has launched its first Latin America-focused report. “Preqin Markets in Focus: Latin America’s Growing Appetite for Alternative Assets” explores the emerging market and trends paving the region’s future in the alternatives industry. With diverse challenges and opportunities unique to the economies and investors in the region, this report reveals how Latin America is leaving the global pandemic behind and expanding further into the world of alternative investments. Read also Guyana. IDB study calls for overhaul of pension system The region’s...

April 1, 2021
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
01Apr

Mercer commits to net zero by 2050 in UK, Europe and Asia

Mercer has targeted net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 for UK, European and Asian clients with discretionary portfolios and the majority of its multi-client, multi asset funds domiciled in Ireland. The company said this represented a combined total of £31.5bn in assets under management as of 31 December 2020, adding that it would seek to achieve its net-zero goal by reducing portfolio relative carbon emissions by at least 45 per cent from 2019 baseline levels by 2030. Following the creation of a...

April 1, 2021
News, Slider, , , , ,
Read more...

March 2021
31Mar

World’s Top Pension Fund Faces Moment of Truth on China Debt

The world’s largest pension pot will soon have to choose between political sensitivities and cold hard returns. With FTSE Russell set to proceed with a plan to add Chinese debt to its benchmark global bond index from October, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund will now have to decide whether to put its money into China’s sovereign debt, or risk lower returns elsewhere. Read also Thailand plans new retirement plan to support its aging population Investing Japanese pension money in Chinese government debt...

March 31, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
30Mar

Canada’s Largest Federal Pension Plan Divests From US Private Prisons

Government pension plans provide a sense of security to millions of workers globally — allowing workers to sleep more soundly knowing they will have money to support themselves and their families. But most pensioners have no idea where their money is actually being invested. Imagine the horror of discovering that your family’s security is actually being attained by separating someone else’s family. This is precisely what just happened in Canada as pensioners discovered their money was being invested in private...

March 30, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
26Mar

New Zealand. Investment or speculation: KiwiSaver fund enters the bitcoin era

NZ Funds Management’s KiwiSaver growth fund has invested in bitcoin, and chief investment officer James Grigor​ expects that within five years it will feature in more KiwiSaver schemes. Read also Cryptocurrency called next great investing opportunity The KiwiSaver provider changed its offer documents in October to allow it to invest in cryptocurrencies for the first time. Grigor said bitcoin had become a commodity, with many of the attractive hallmarks of gold, which investors often bought as a store of value in times...

March 26, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
26Mar

Swiss pension fund posts $500m decarbonisation mandate on IPE Quest

An unnamed Swiss pension fund is looking for a global equity solution aligned with EU climate benchmark requirements for a $500m (€423m) mandate, according to a new search on IPE Quest. The fund said it is looking to decarbonise its global passive equity exposure with a rule-based carbon and ESG-optimised solution. According to search QN-2686, the solution should match the EU Climate Transition Benchmark (CTB) requirements. The investor specified that it wants minimal regional, sector and style deviation from the index,...

March 26, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
25Mar

Pensions savings can fund Africa eco-plans

According to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), the fastest-growing and largest category of impact investing assets under management by investment source is from pension funds and insurance companies. Pension funds that are putting money in impact investing are from the developed world and very little is happening in terms of the investments of the African pension funds. In many places, pension funds are riding on DFIs and other fund managers to make investments especially in developing countries including Africa....

March 25, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
24Mar

Cryptocurrency called next great investing opportunity

Cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds are coming to America. While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to weigh in on the March 1 filing from Cboe BZX Exchange to approve listing and trading of the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, the weight of the water behind the regulatory dam appears so great at this point that le deluge is inevitable. Even with cryptocurrency exchange-traded products already available in Europe and Canada, a U.S.-listed product could send a shock wave through the investing world. "It...

March 24, 2021
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
24Mar

Australia. Pensions Giant Says Treasury Yields at 3% Will Change Everything

If there’s one core view at the heart of the investment strategy at Australia’s biggest pension fund, it’s that yields still have a long way to rise. The exodus from Treasuries will continue until 10-year yields top out at 3% or so, which would be high enough to imperil economic growth and force the Federal Reserve to respond, according to Carl Astorri, head of asset allocation at AustralianSuper Pty., which manages A$210 billion ($161 billion). He has been further trimming...

March 24, 2021
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
22Mar

UK. Emerging passive investing risks a new concern

Investment consultants around the globe are asking their pension fund clients to think carefully about two very real concerns that have emerged in passive investing: ESG-related and concentration risks. Some pension fund clients have heeded their advice, reconsidering whether they should be implementing some kind of ESG tilt to their benchmarks and in other cases, looking to take portions of the allocation to an active manager instead. "We are … having exactly these conversations: How much of this risk are people...

March 22, 2021
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...