June 2026
05Jun

The war on Iran could send UK pensions up in smoke

As a barrage of Iranian missiles rained down on the Fujairah oil terminal, the explosion was deafening and the destruction dramatic: a brutal fire, thick black smoke stretching into the sky – and untold damage to one of the region’s crucial pieces of fossil fuel infrastructure. The Fujairah terminal is part of the UAE’s key oil export route because it bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, loading up ships with about 1.7 million barrels per day. The attack on 4 May...

June 5, 2026
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05Jun

Pension funds in Chile gain appreciation for catastrophe bonds and are allocating: Report

Over the last few year’s we’ve noticed increasing interest in the insurance-linked securities asset class as an investment opportunity from institutions in Latin America and now pensions in Chile have reportedly begun allocating to catastrophe bonds. Helped by a number of years of consecutive strong performance, catastrophe bonds and ILS as an investable asset class is generating meaningful attention. This has resulted in capital flows that have helped to fuel the expansion of the cat bond market over the last few...

June 5, 2026
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02Jun

Pension funds manage trillions and most still underestimate their social role: report

Pension funds collectively manage more than US$56tn in assets, serve hundreds of millions of members worldwide, and, according to a new report, most still do not recognize the full scope of what they already do. The International Centre for Pension Management released Social Infrastructure Blueprint: A Roadmap for Pension Funds on June 1, arguing that pension funds function as social infrastructure providers whether they acknowledge it or not. The report said failing to recognise that role carries real institutional risk. Gibbins said aging populations and rising inequality...

June 2, 2026
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May 2026
25May

Allianz Retiree Study Puts Longevity Fears And Inflation At Center Stage

Find winning stocks in any market cycle. Join 7 million investors using Simply Wall St's investing ideas for FREE. Allianz (XTRA:ALV) has released new research on retiree financial well-being. The study finds many retirees are more worried about outliving their savings than about mortality. Inflation and rising healthcare costs are highlighted as key drivers of growing financial anxiety. For you as an investor, this research speaks directly to Allianz's core business in insurance and retirement solutions. The findings spotlight how inflation...

May 25, 2026
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22May

Pension Fund Investment and Firm Innovation

By Cédric Schneider, Dario Pozzoli & David Pinkus We use a unique database on domestic pension fund investment to analyze the relationship between pension fund investment and innovation within Danish firms. We find a significant positive association between pension fund investment and various measures of innovation, including green technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, this relationship is much weaker in highly competitive industries,suggesting that pension funds encourage innovation by monitoring and holding managers accountable. Our analysis also shows...

May 22, 2026
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22May

Investment Decisions of Defined Benefit Pension Plans

By Zhichuan Frank Li, Jun Wang & Yuqi Zhang This paper examines the determinants of defined benefit (DB) pension plan investment decisions of U.S. corporations with the largest 100 DB plans (Milliman 100 companies). We test two contradicting theories on DB plans. The risk-management theory indicates that firms tend to reduce risk in their pension investments when facing high risk, and the risk-shifting theory predicts the opposite because the funds’ downside risk is hedged by federal government insurance. We find...

May 22, 2026
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22May

Canadian pension fund crosses $793 billion as it weathers geopolitical storm

Canada's retirement giant posts 7.8% return for fiscal 2026, beating long-term sustainability targets as contribution rate cut looms. Canada's largest pension fund closed its fiscal year with net assets of $793.3 billion, adding nearly $79 billion over the course of twelve months despite navigating a turbulent global environment defined by currency volatility, shifting central bank expectations and a late-year equity selloff driven by Middle East conflict. CPP Investments ended the fiscal year on March 31, 2026, up from $714.4 billion a...

May 22, 2026
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21May

Quebec pension giant bets big on Brazil’s power grid

Two of Latin America's largest energy infrastructure investors are consolidating their Brazilian transmission assets into a single platform, betting on the country's grid modernization push. La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Colombia-based Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB) have signed a final agreement to merge their respective Brazilian power transmission holdings into a jointly controlled, 50/50 venture under the name Verene Energia S.A. The combined entity will hold 26 electric transmission concession agreements, more than 9,000 km of transmission lines, and over...

May 21, 2026
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19May

Pensions UK outlines steps for pension investment in UK growth assets as barriers persist

Pensions UK has set out practical steps to enable schemes to invest more in UK growth assets, as it emerged that almost half (48 per cent) of the trade body’s members believed the government was doing 'a little' to facilitate a pipeline of investable opportunities. The report, and accompanying call to action, comes one year after the Mansion House Accord was signed, a voluntary commitment by 17 of the UK’s largest pension providers to increase investment in unlisted assets in...

May 19, 2026
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15May

Analysis of climate risk reporting across UK pension schemes

By XPS Group 2025 has shown that climate change is no longer a distant risk. It's a force that's already shaping economies, societies and investment markets. While government policy remains fragmented, UK pension schemes remain exposed to the risks of worsening climate outcomes, and to opportunities that arise from a faster transition to a green economy. Our fourth annual Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) review examines how 49 UK pension schemes, representing £420bn in assets, are addressing climate change...

May 15, 2026
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