September 2023
07Sep

Nigeria’s pension, four other countries collaborate to grow over $70bn assets

Nigeria’s pension sector with assets under management (AUM) in excess of N16.7 trillion, equal to $22.14 billion at of June 2023 is collaborating with four other countries in Africa to grow their over $70 billion market size. The collaboration will enable them to foster the adoption of alternative investments and will focus on green finance, a pivotal driver for bolstering various sectors of the economy. This collaboration on Monday witnessed the launch of the Pan-African Fund Managers’ Association (PAFMA), a new...

September 7, 2023
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06Sep

Pension fund CPF eyes stake in Africa Finance Corporation

Pension fund CPF Financial Services is set to make an equity investment in the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) as it seeks to diversify its investments from traditional asset classes. CPF managing director Hosea Kili made the revelation on Monday even as he remained tight-lipped on the value of its proposed investment in the pan-African lender. “We will discuss the details of the investment including the value of the equity with our fund managers in due course. This is part of our...

September 6, 2023
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05Sep

Australian regulator warns pension funds

Australian pension funds need to improve how they value private equity, the sector’s regulator said on Monday after a review into the sector’s treatment of Canva, an Australian technology start-up whose lofty valuation tumbled in 2022. Sydney-headquartered software firm Canva hit a peak valuation of $40bn in late 2021, only to be revised sharply lower to $25.5bn last August amid a downturn in technology stocks. Major funds including Aware Super and Hostplus were investors. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on...

September 5, 2023
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01Sep

Swiss pension funds consider high costs as main obstacle to invest sustainably

Swiss pension funds consider high costs arising from the integration of ESG standards into their investments as the main obstacle for the implementation of an effective sustainability strategy, according to a study consulted by the Swiss government. ESG investments require a certain amount of capital to deploy for research, as those strategies can be carried out internally or through the involvement of external service providers, mandating asset managers or advisors, or via the providers of ESG financial products, for example...

September 1, 2023
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01Sep

Canada’s largest pension fund trims staff as it puts China deals on hold

CPP Investments, Canada's biggest pension fund, has laid off at least five investment professionals at its Hong Kong office as it steps back from deals in China, three people with knowledge of the matter said. Most were on the fund's private equity team and were informed early last month, according to two of the people. The departures have not been previously reported. They added that a managing director who was in charge of the firm's Greater China real estate portfolio had...

September 1, 2023
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August 2023
30Aug

Vanguard support for ESG shareholder proposals down from last proxy year

Vanguard funds supported only 2% of shareholder resolutions on environmental and social issues at its U.S. portfolio companies in its 2023 proxy year, down from 12% in the prior proxy year. The proxy year lasts from July 1 through June 30, according to a brief published by Vanguard's investment stewardship team on Monday. Specifically, Vanguard said that in proxy year 2023 the firm saw 359 environmental and social proposals put forward for a vote at its U.S. portfolio companies, up from...

August 30, 2023
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30Aug

UK pension funds write to prime minister over net-zero policies

A group of UK pension funds have written to the prime minister warning that recent public statements and policy decisions regarding the net-zero transition are impacting investor confidence. The group, which is comprised of 36 pension schemes and investment managers, that together hold £1.5trn of assets under management yesterday (29 August) wrote to the prime minister Rishi Sunak, warning that mixed messages from the government on its support for the net-zero transition are jeopardising billions of pounds of much needed...

August 30, 2023
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30Aug

Dutch pension funds slash €28bn of Asian investments

Sales and losses have led to allocations to the region falling by more than a fifth in 15 months. Allocations to Japan, and Taiwan were the most affected, according to central bank data. A combination of sales and losses have seen Dutch pension fund allocations to Asia fall by €27.5 billion ($30.3 billion) since the last quarter of 2021. Asia allocations by the industry in the first quarter of 2023 totalled €106.6 billion, down from €134.1 billion 15 months earlier, a...

August 30, 2023
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29Aug

US. North Carolina Retirement Systems discloses $500 million in commitments

North Carolina Retirement Systems, Raleigh, committed a total of $500 million to private equity and inflation-sensitive asset funds. The $114.6 billion pension fund disclosed the commitments in a report included with the Aug. 23 investment advisory committee meeting materials on the website of Dale R. Folwell, state treasurer and sole trustee of the retirement system. The commitments closed in June and July of this year, according to the report. Within private equity, NCRS committed $150 million each to Hg Titan 2...

August 29, 2023
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28Aug

Canada is burning, so why is our national pension fund still heavily into fossil fuels?

By: Patrick DeRochie   Patrick DeRochie is the senior manager of Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, a charitable project that tracks the fossil fuel investments and climate policies of Canadian pension funds, and mobilizes pension beneficiaries to engage fund managers on the climate crisis. As Canada experiences a record-shattering summer of deadly extreme weather, it’s worth remembering that our national pension fund has poured much of our retirement savings into the primary cause of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. In...

August 28, 2023
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