February 2025
05Feb

Pension funds must be invested beyond Ghana — Ecobank CIO

CHIEF Investment Officer for Wealth and Asset Management at Ecobank, Emmanuel Owusu, has called for room to enable pension fund managers to diversify their investment portfolios beyond the shores of the country. Consequently, he advocated a regulatory shift to allow pension fund managers to explore opportunities in international markets, arguing that diversification was crucial for long-term growth. He was speaking at the 3rd Annual Forecast Dinner and Charter Recognition Ceremony organised by CFA Society Ghana, which brought together financial experts, policymakers...

February 5, 2025
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04Feb

Asset owners ‘increasingly aware’ of risks of biodiversity loss, report says

Close to two-thirds of asset owners are now incorporating nature and biodiversity into their sustainability strategies whilst a further one-fifth intend to do so, according to a survey by Pensions for Purpose, the UK-based industry body. The report was based on interviews with 20 asset owners and managers across the UK, Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America and Latin America. These included the Bedfordshire Pension Fund, Cambridge Associates, PGGM, JANA Investment Advisers and the Wiltshire Pension Fund. Asset owners are “at a critical point in...

February 4, 2025
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January 2025
31Jan

Pensions investment outlook 2025: U.S. policy uncertainty clouds road ahead

By Investment Managers The coming year will likely be characterized by three main drivers: the U.S.’s politically driven polices, structural economic 1 The implicit yield curve based on the floating rates associated with an interest rate swap. weaknesses and political uncertainty in Europe, and China’s restructuring of its troubled property market. Overall, our forecasts suggest global growth looks set to continue its 2024 pace of 3.2% in 2025, before easing in 2026 to 2.9%. This outlook could be compounded by the implementation...

January 31, 2025
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30Jan

UK. Pensions experts react to government’s DB surplus plan

Pensions experts have largely welcomed new proposals from the government to allow surplus funds in DB schemes to be invested in the wider economy. It intends to allow part of a DB fund surplus to be returned to the employer for them to invest in their core business, or bolster pension-scheme members’ benefits. However, Rachel Vahey – head of public policy at AJ Bell – said in doing so, the government is “encouraging trustees to take risks with other people’s money”. TPR...

January 30, 2025
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29Jan

UK. ‘Financial materiality’ forcing nature and biodiversity into sustainability strategies

“Financial materiality” is forcing asset owners, including pension funds, to incorporate nature and biodiversity into their sustainability strategies, according to a report by Pensions for Purpose. The report found that 65 per cent of asset owners are now incorporating nature and biodiversity into their sustainability strategies, while a further 20 per cent already plan to do so. Commissioned by the First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute, the research highlighted the pressing need for the financial sector to confront biodiversity risks, with...

January 29, 2025
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28Jan

UK. Pension industry backs Reeves’ £160bn corporate pension release

The pensions industry has said it is willing to back the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to unlock up to £160bn in corporate surpluses if retirees are given “appropriate protection” by the government. Reeves and the Prime Minister Keir Starmer are set to meet with business leaders in the City of London today to outline pension reforms aimed at driving economic growth. Under the changes, trapped surplus funds in so-called final salary pension schemes will be freed up for investment, while trustees will be given more...

January 28, 2025
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28Jan

Dutch Pension Fund Seeks Divestment from BlackRock

A Dutch pension fund is considering cutting ties with BlackRock because of the manager’s departure from the Net-Zero Asset Managers Initiative. PME Pensioenfonds, a pension fund for the metals and technology industry which has more than 620,000 participants, said it was reconsidering the future of its 5 billion euros invested with the manager, according to a memo seen by CIO. The pension fund is among the largest in the Netherlands, with more than 280 billion euros ($294.17 billion) in assets under...

January 28, 2025
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28Jan

Trump’s DEI pushback targets universities, foundations and other institutional investors

The Trump administration’s pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion is now targeting universities, foundations and public companies — a new development in the movement to dismantle DEI. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 21 in which he calls for “Encouraging the Private Sector to End Illegal DEI Discrimination and Preferences.” That order mandates federal agencies determine which universities, foundations and corporations should be investigated for their DEI policies, among other things. Specifically, the order directs each agency to identify up...

January 28, 2025
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27Jan

UK. Reeves set to announce plans for DB pension surplus rule changes

Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to reveal a range of initiatives to promote economic growth later this week, including plans to make it easier for sponsors of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to access surplus funds, Sky News has reported. According to the reports, Reeves is set to announce that she wants to change DB surplus rules to boost investment in the UK economy, with government sources suggesting that this could unlock more than £60bn of pension surpluses held in DB schemes. At...

January 27, 2025
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24Jan

The Role of ‘Green’ Investors in Reducing Corporate Carbon Emissions

By National Bureau of Economic Research The researchers categorize public pension funds based on the political affiliation of the leaders who control them. Those under Democratic control, either through governance or board trusteeship, were labeled “green.” Those under Republican control were labeled “non-green.” The researchers assume that Democrats generally favor carbon emission reductions more than Republicans. They study emissions data from 2010–21 for 5,241 facilities across 685 publicly traded companies, along with data on pension fund stock holdings for 24 of...

January 24, 2025
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