October 2020

26Oct

Jamaica. Alternative investments a must for the modern portfolio

Alternative investments have been creating quite a buzz in the financial market as investors contend with the effects of a global pandemic, geopolitical risks, and the resulting impact on the performance of traditional assets such as stocks and bonds. This roller coaster experience in traditional asset prices caused by the aforementioned factors is expected to become the new normal but has negative implications for long-term financial goals. As a result, the search for investments in assets in non-traditional spaces, which...

October 26, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
23Oct

Ethical investment remains a work in progress

The flurry of activity around Good Money Week this year feels more than justified. Launched in 2005, this annual initiative — which starts on Saturday — aims to help people understand the benefits of sustainable and ethical finance, whether in pensions, investments or savings. And 15 years on, Covid-19 is providing new motivation for investors to explore investing in ethical funds. Read also Canada. Quebec Pension Launches Fund to Boost Diversity in Smaller Firms The hard months of lockdown have...

October 23, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
23Oct

US. The DOL’s ESG Proposal and DB Plans

There´s a lot of money in corporate defined benefit (DB) plans, and it can make a difference how those assets are invested. Cooper Abbott, president and chairman of Carillon Tower Advisers, notes that the Department of Labor (DOL) oversees employee benefit plans that represent approximately $10 trillion in combined assets under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Of this total, about $8 trillion is in mutual and other funds, and about $2 trillion is in directly...

October 23, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
21Oct

Pandemic puts pressure on global pensions

The combination of low interest rates, a pandemic-ravaged global economy and reduced investment returns are straining pension systems, according to an annual survey. Covid-19 has also exacerbated gender inequality in pensions, the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index says. Women already retired with less money than men, and the pandemic’s effect on the hospitality and food services sectors, where women are overrepresented, will add to the gap. Canada’s pension systems held at ninth overall in the 2020 study with...

October 21, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
21Oct

South Korea. NPS partners with Dutch pension fund for global investments

South Korea’s biggest institutional investor, the National Pension Service, has forged a partnership with Dutch retirement fund operator APG Asset Management to invest in European and Asian markets, according to the Korean fund operator. APG, which managed assets worth 538 billion euros ($637.4 billion) as of the end of 2019, invests in the private education, construction and energy sectors on behalf of Dutch state-run fund ABP. Before forging the partnership, APG and the NPS jointly invested in a...

October 21, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
21Oct

UAE. Abu Dhabi Pension Fund and ADQ to Invest $2.1 Billion in Gas Pipelines

The Abu Dhabi Pension Fund (ADPF) and holding company ADQ have made a $2.1 billion investment in the state’s gas pipeline assets. The state pension fund and holding company will take a one-fifth stake in the gas pipeline assets owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which oversees 38 pipelines spanning 610 miles, the state-owned oil company ADNOC said last week. “The addition of these high-caliber UAE investors sets a new benchmark for leading global and...

October 21, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
20Oct

These Are the World’s Best (and Worst) Pension Systems in 2020

The Netherlands and Denmark have cemented their positions as having the best pension systems in the world, even as other countries falter during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an annual global survey. Read also Pandemic puts pressure on global pensions The countries again took the top two slots in the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index published Tuesday, drawing praise for holding their nerve and not allowing citizens to drain their accounts during the crisis. Read also Asia managers set...

October 20, 2020
News, Slider, , , , ,
Read more...
20Oct

Chile’s pension funds join global gold ETP rush

Chilean pension funds have been given the go-ahead by the country’s financial regulator to invest in gold exchange traded products for the first time. The relaxation is part of a brace of reforms in Latin America, alongside Brazil’s decision to allow cross listings of overseas exchange traded funds in the form of depositary receipts, that could help breathe new life into the region’s stuttering ETF industry. Felipe Cousiño, a partner at Alessandri, a Chilean law firm, said the move...

October 20, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
19Oct

Canada. CPPIB urged to plan now for net-zero reality

Despite Canada's economic reliance on its oil and gas industry, finance experts and sustainability advocates are urging large public investors like the C$434.4 billion ($326.3 billion) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to implement long-term investment strategies that better align with the federal government's pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Multiple sources agree that Toronto-based CPPIB, Canada's largest pension fund, should support the country's transition to a low-carbon economy, enhance its disclosure of fossil-fuel investments and set a...

October 19, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
19Oct

Japanese pension funds may hold key to Chinese JGB puzzle

China has ramped up purchases of low-yielding Japanese government bonds China stormed back into Japanese government bonds over the summer with ¥2.2tn ($21bn) in purchases between June and August — the biggest three-month spree since Japan’s Ministry of Finance began compiling data in 2005. The country has made several similar incursions to the JGB market since 2016 — the previous record high for purchases — snapping up Japan’s notoriously low-yielding debt on a grand scale and causing head-scratching over what...

October 19, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...