February 2025
12Feb

Global pension assets climb to record $58.5 trillion

Global pensions assets rose by 4.9% year-on-year in 2024, reaching a record USD 58.5 trillion, led by growth in the largest DC markets, according to the Thinking Ahead Institute’s (TAI) latest Global Pension Assets Study. This compares to USD 55.7 trillion at the end of 2023, when the same study by the TAI measured a return to growth after the sharp fall in global pension assets in 2022. Despite the rise in overall assets, there are significant differences between regions. The US...

February 12, 2025
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10Feb

Pension funds foresee increased risk to assets and liabilities in 2025

The majority of pension fund executives expect their plans’ risk profile to increase in 2025, according to a survey conducted by Ortec Finance, a provider of risk and return management solutions for pension funds. The research shows that 77% of pension fund executives surveyed expect the coming year to bring an elevated risk profile. The survey targeted senior pension fund executives in the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Canada and the Nordics whose funds collectively manage $1.451trn (€1.399trn) in assets. The risks were...

February 10, 2025
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07Feb

2025 Asset Allocation Return & Risk Assumptions

By Wilshire Wilshire’s long-term inflation forecast is 2.35%, which is up 10 basis points from last year’s assumption. Our practice since 2003 has been to derive our inflation forecast by observing the market’s breakeven inflation rate – the spread between the yield on a 10-year Treasury and the real yield on a similar maturity Treasury Inflation Protected Security (TIPS). During periods of market stress, TIPS pricing may be affected by liquidity demands or a high level of inflation uncertainty, as...

February 7, 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
30Jan

US. More than 4 in 5 retirement plans have at least one regulatory ‘red flag’ violation

More than 4 in 5 workplace retirement plans in the U.S. (84%) have at least one regulatory “red flag” violation that could put them at risk of fines, legal penalties or fiduciary failure, according to consultant Abernathy Daley 401k Consultants. Of the nearly 765,000 defined contribution plans analyzed, 43% had at least one “regulatory infraction red flag” or RIRF, the most severe type of violation that could result in civil legal penalties, discovery leading to trial, or both, Abernathy said. RIRF...

January 30, 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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23Jan

US. Pension funds push once again for private equity transparency

Pension funds and other institutional investors are pressing private-equity firms to provide more standardized reporting on fees and investment performance, reflecting long-standing frustration over inconsistent and opaque disclosures. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Institutional Limited Partners Association, a trade group representing pension plans such as the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, recently proposed new guidelines aimed at improving transparency in the private-equity sector. According to the Journal, those guidelines...

January 23, 2025
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23Jan

China moves to boost languishing markets by ordering funds to invest more in shares

The Chinese government is trying to encourage people to spend more by ensuring that share prices will rise, ordering pensions and mutual funds to invest more in domestic stocks to help jolt its languid markets out of the doldrums. Officials told reporters in Beijing on Thursday that beginning this year mutual funds should increase holdings of onshore stocks, called A-shares, by at least 10% a year over the next three years. Commercial insurance funds will have to put 30% of their...

January 23, 2025
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22Jan

One in five pension funds lacks liquidity, survey shows

One in five pension funds (18%) admit they lack sufficient liquidity to withstand adverse scenarios, while 62% acknowledge that liquidity could become problematic in extreme cases, according to a survey by pension funds solution provider Ortec Finance. The survey, which polled senior executives managing $1.451 trillion in assets across the UK, US, the Netherlands, Canada, and the Nordics, revealed that just 20% of funds are confident in their liquidity positions. Long-term liquidity risks emerged as the primary concern for 60%...

January 22, 2025
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20Jan

UK. The People’s Pension exploring private markets with plans to allocate up to $4.9 billion

The People's Pension, Crawley, England, is taking steps to allocate up to £4 billion ($4.9 billion) to private markets assets by 2030, and also plans to hire a specialist and set up a dedicated research capability. The defined contribution master trust had £31 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, and expects to reach £60 billion by 2033. This allocation will mark The People's Pension's first foray into private markets, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the fund. While it did...

January 20, 2025
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