October 2021
19Oct

2021 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index

By Mercer & CFA Institute The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the well-being of millions of individuals around the world. Its effects, however, are not confined to the health systems or those who contract the virus. There are broader economic effects with higher government debt and restricted economic activity in many countries. While it would be easy for governments to concentrate on these short term challenges, it would be a mistake to do so. With ageing populations,...

October 19, 2021
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19Oct

Kenya. Pension funds participation in market drops

Pension schemes cut investment in securities on Covid-19 disruptions, blunting local investor stake in the economy and making Kenya slip four positions in an index that ranks countries’ financial market attractiveness. The Absa Africa Financial Markets Index 2021 shows that reduced pension investment saw Kenya lost 17 points in the index that measures local investor capacity. The country scored 24 points out of 100, from 41 in 2020. The local investor capacity was based on the size of pension funds - key...

October 19, 2021
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14Oct

U.S. Labor Department proposes counter rule to Trump-era investment measures

The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday proposed a rule aimed to override a pair of Trump-era measures that had barred retirement and pension plans from considering climate change and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when they select investments. Read also U.S. Labor Department proposes counter rule to Trump-era investment measures The DOL proposal, which is subject to a 60-comment period before it can be adopted, comes after the agency in March said it would not enforce the 2020...

October 14, 2021
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14Oct

​Icelandic pensions major blacklists 138 firms as new policy kicks in

Iceland’s second-biggest pension fund, the Pension Fund of Commerce (Lífeyrissjóður verzlunarmanna, LV), announced it is blacklisting 138 firms as the result of its new responsible investment policy, revealing it has already sold ISK3bn (€20m) of investments, with more to follow. Read also Sustainable investment ‘rebooting’ Europe’s private markets, research finds The ISK1trn pension provider said most of the exclusions were firms producing coal and oil sands, while 22 made “controversial weapons”, 15 were considered to be in breach of the UN...

October 14, 2021
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13Oct

Canada. Ontario Teachers’ Announces Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Vantage Elevator Solutions

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board ("Ontario Teachers'"), today announced an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Vantage Elevator Solutions ("Vantage"), a leading North American designer, manufacturer and distributor of elevator components and systems. As part of the transaction, Vantage's current owner, Golden Gate Capital, will retain a significant minority ownership stake in the company. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. Vantage is a leading North American elevator component manufacturer, providing a broad portfolio of parts and components...

October 13, 2021
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12Oct

WTW and Qontigo launch climate transition indices

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and Qontigo have announced the launch of the STOXX WTW Climate Transition Indices (CTI), which utilise a new methodology to quantify the impact of a Paris-aligned climate transition on equity valuations. The CTI are expected to help investors, governments and companies to manage the risk and opportunities in their portfolios, looking "beyond carbon emissions” with a forward-looking, bottom-up evaluation of transition risk and opportunity for each company. The proprietary Climate Transition Value at Risk (CTVaR) measure analyses...

October 12, 2021
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11Oct

Sustainable investment ‘rebooting’ Europe’s private markets, research finds

The rise in demand for sustainable investments is driving a “structural reboot” of private market investing in Europe, with environmental, social and governance funds on track to account for up to two-fifths of the industry’s assets in just a few years. According to research from PwC, ESG private market assets could hit between €775.7bn and €1.2tn by 2025, up from €253bn in 2020, as regulation and client demand force an overhaul of private equity, real estate, infrastructure and private debt...

October 11, 2021
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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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