May 2020
29May

Pension Fund Managers dump Nigerian Treasury Bills

Analysis of the recently released summary of Pension Fund Asset data for the first two months of 2020 by the Pension Commission of Nigeria has shown that pension fund managers are no longer in love with Treasury Bills like they used to be in the past. Time was when fund managers allocated much of their assets to treasury bills, but that seems to be waning as yields on treasury bills head towards subzero. According to the analysis, pension fund...

May 29, 2020
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28May

Australian regulator urges poorly performing pension funds to find buyers, exit industry

Many Australian pension funds have been suffering from falling asset prices, liquidity pressures and declining investor inflows due to the coronavirus pandemic and some should consider finding a buyer, the industry regulator said on Wednesday. Trustees must “be able to demonstrate their ‘right to remain’,” the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said in an article published on its website “For some the only way forward ... may be to exit the industry and pass on the trusteeship of their...

May 28, 2020
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20May

Canada. How are pension plan sponsors’ fiduciary duties evolving in the time of coronavirus?

While the coronavirus pandemic certainly doesn’t change pension plan sponsors’ fundamental fiduciary duty to their plan members, the crisis is creating circumstances that will test how that responsibility manifests. Fiduciary duty arises when one party has a certain vulnerability in respect to another party, said Kenneth Burns, partner at Lawson Lundell LLP, in a webinar roundtable hosted by the Association of Canadian Pension Management on Thursday. In a pension context, plan sponsors have a fiduciary duty to their members...

May 20, 2020
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19May

European insurers face increased risk exposures due to Covid-19, but market perceptions and imbalances remained at medium level

Today, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published its updated Risk Dashboard based on the fourth quarter 2019 Solvency II data. Despite the fact that some indicators used in this Risk Dashboard do not capture the latest market development in the context of Covid-19 outbreak, the expected deterioration of the relevant indicators reflecting all available information in a forward looking perspective has been considered in the assigned risk levels. This addresses the current situation of high uncertainty...

May 19, 2020
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05May

Nigeria. PenCom dissolves interim management committee for First Guarantee Pension, appoints new board

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has dissolved the interim management committee of First Guarantee Pension Limited. The committee was set up in August 12, 2011 to handle the affairs of the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), as part of the commission’s intervention pending the resolution of legal disputes. The intervention was also based on findings of routine and especial examinations carried out by the pension regulator. In a public statement that was released on Monday, PenCom announced that...

May 5, 2020
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04May

Top US pension plans eye private credit.

Some of America’s largest pension funds are looking to pour money into private credit to capitalise on dislocations across the market stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Both the $227bn California State Teachers Retirement System (Calstrs) and the $215bn New York State Common Retirement Fund have identified private credit as an opportunity for investors that have enough liquidity to lend to struggling companies. Meanwhile, data from FT Specialist publication MandateWire shows that numerous other public funds in the US are...

May 4, 2020
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04May

Top US pension plans eye private credit.

Some of America’s largest pension funds are looking to pour money into private credit to capitalise on dislocations across the market stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Both the $227bn California State Teachers Retirement System (Calstrs) and the $215bn New York State Common Retirement Fund have identified private credit as an opportunity for investors that have enough liquidity to lend to struggling companies. Meanwhile, data from FT Specialist publication MandateWire shows that numerous other public funds in the US are also looking...

May 4, 2020
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04May

Trouble with pensions is a lack of innovation

By Steve Watson Recent research found that two thirds of employers think that pensions are far too complicated and providers are not innovating enough to offer new and progressive products. The research, which looked at the challenges employees face when it comes to pensions, found that almost 45% of employers felt that ensuring all employees have adequate funds when they retire was a huge challenge. While auto enrolment has made a huge difference to the numbers of employees saving into...

May 4, 2020
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04May

Trouble with pensions is a lack of innovation

By Steve Watson Recent research found that two thirds of employers think that pensions are far too complicated and providers are not innovating enough to offer new and progressive products. The research, which looked at the challenges employees face when it comes to pensions, found that almost 45% of employers felt that ensuring all employees have adequate funds when they retire was a huge challenge. While auto enrolment has made a huge difference to the numbers of employees saving into...

May 4, 2020
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01May

ATP, PFA assets plummet as coronavirus hits

ATP, Hilleroed, Denmark, posted a -26% investment return for the three months ended March 31, as market fluctuations hit international equities and inflation-related securities. An update Thursday said the pension fund's return was equal to a 24.7 billion Danish kroner ($3.6 billion) loss, compared with a gain of 16.8 billion kroner for the three months ended March 31, 2019. The fourth quarter 2019 return was not available. Assets increased 0.4% to 889.5 billion kroner in the three months ended...

May 1, 2020
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