December 2019

Canada’s second largest pension fund gets deadly serious about climate crisis

As world leaders converge at this week’s climate summit in Madrid to debate how best to shift to a net zero-economy, Michael Sabia is leaving the helm of Canada’s second-largest pension plan having firmly placed Quebec’s retirement savings at the forefront of the global movement for low-carbon investing. Sabia, who recently announced he’s stepping down from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in early 2020, ushered in a fundamental change in how the $326 billion Quebec...

UK. What does 2020 hold for pensions?

By Andrew Tully Many changes will be taking place in the world of pensions as we move towards the end of 2019 and into 2020. Ongoing regulatory developments seem inevitable, but nonetheless it is important for firms to be aware of what changes are due and what they will mean to clients. Wake-up packs New requirements to provide wake-up packs to clients were introduced on 1 November. Traditionally, these packs were issued between four and six months before the selected...

KPMG agrees to management buy-out of UK pensions division

KPMG has agreed a deal for the buy-out of its UK pensions division, which will continue to serve clients under the ownership of its current management team. The management buy-out is understood to have been backed by Exponent Private Equity, the private equity firm which entered into exclusive talks with KPMG for the purchase in October. In recent months, KPMG has been conducting a continuous restructuring of its UK operations. The Big Four firm sunk a £45 million investment...

US. Washington state pension fund’s lawsuit against corrupt Brazilian conglomerate allowed to proceed

The Washington State Investment Board, which oversees $141.8 billion for 17 state retirement plans, can move forward with a lawsuit that seeks to recover millions of dollars from a soured investment in a Brazilian conglomerate that was discovered to be engaged in an international bribery scandal of unprecedented scale. The company, Odebrecht, was the target of a fraud probe by the Department of Justice that resulted in a $4.5 billion plea deal in 2016. The feds found Odebrecht created...

November 2019

South Africa: Ex-Mineworkers Dig Against the Odds for Their Unpaid Pensions

The leaders of an ex-mineworkers association in Khayelitsha have spent the past decade trying to track down the unpaid pension benefits deducted from their wages without their knowledge or consent. While the mining companies sit pretty , ex-mineworkers continue to live hand to mouth with painful memories of a life made invisible. Now, they demand to be seen by a government they feel has betrayed them. Every Friday for the past decade, Sphiwo William Casiwe has made his...

US. Federal Pension Balks at Bill Banning China Investments

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), which administers a defined contribution plan for US federal employees, has balked at proposed legislation that would prevent the fund from holding direct or indirect investments in China-based companies. The FRTIB oversees the Thrift Savings Plan, a tax-deferred defined contribution plan for federal employees that had approximately $560 billon in net assets as of the end of 2018. According to a letter seen by Reuters, the FRTIB said the proposed legislation “discriminates...

UK Pension Provider STM Slumps 30% After Profit Warning

Financial services provider STM Group said on Wednesday it expects its 2019 underlying earnings to fall by a third on weak performance in its pensions business, sending its shares plunging 30%. The company, listed on London's junior stock market, forecast an annual underlying pretax profit of 2.5 million pounds ($3.21 million), compared with 3.7 million pounds reported last year. The slowdown in business applications within its pensions segment was partly due to some uncertainties and concerns in the general...

The People’s Money: Pensions, Debt, and Government Services;Urban Agenda

By Michael A Pagano American cities continue to experience profound fiscal crises. Falling revenues cannot keep pace with the increased costs of vital public services, infrastructure development and improvement, and adequately funded pensions. Chicago presents an especially vivid example of these issues, as the state of Illinois's rocky fiscal condition compounds the city's daunting budget challenges. In The People's Money, Michael A. Pagano curates a group of essays that emerged from discussions at the 2018 UIC Urban Forum. The...

World’s Largest Pension Fund Keeps Analysts in Dark on Portfolio

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund’s decision to not disclose details of its quarterly allocation breakdown has some analysts saying that the world’s biggest pension fund is backtracking on transparency. Read also Impact investing is about more than saving the world In a statement on Nov. 1, GPIF President Norihiro Takahashi said the fund won’t disclose the allocation breakdown, amounts and investment income for each asset class this fiscal year, as it reviews the composition of its basic portfolio, which totals...

South Africa. Battle to recover R42 billion in unclaimed pension money

A campaign to reclaim billions of rands in unclaimed benefits is about to kick into high gear. The Unclaimed Benefits Committee (UBC), representing a group of claimants, and non-profit organisation Open Secrets, are planning to lobby Parliament. “We will also be calling for a boycott of finance companies involved in withholding benefits,” says Thomas Malakotse, a member of the UBC steering committee. “The fund administrators have been making secret profits for decades by charging fees on these unclaimed assets,...