March 2024
06Mar

Expert panel: How DC plan members can hedge longevity risk for more effective decumulation

Retiring baby boomers are in an era of decumulation anxiety, as they convert their pension assets into income that they fear won’t hold up over the entirety of their retirement. The decumulation problem is complex for defined contribution pension plan sponsors because it involves transferring lump sum pension assets to retirees who may lack investment expertise and who may not know how to distribute their savings to cover their entire retirement horizon. It’s not obvious how to calibrate between having the desired...

March 6, 2024
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04Mar

U.K. pension funds to disclose domestic investment as London stock market falters

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Saturday said U.K. pensions will have to disclose how much they have invested domestically, in a move meant to boost the faltering U.K. stock market. Under the plan, defined contribution funds by 2027 will have to disclose their level of investment in British businesses, as well as their costs and net investment returns. Hunt said the proposal will first be reviewed by the Financial Conduct Authority. Pension funds also will have to disclose how they performed against...

March 4, 2024
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01Mar

Final report: Engaging with Pensions at timely moments

By Department for Work & Pensions The research achieves this by exploring people’s attitudes and behaviour with regards to pensions, saving, and retirement planning; identifying whether specific life events might be useful prompts to help people engage with their pensions; and looking at how the government and the pensions industry could best support people at these times. Get the report here

March 1, 2024
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February 2024
26Feb

Global pension assets recover to pass US$55trn

Global pension assets rose by 11 per cent on aggregate to US$55.7bn in 2023, according to the Thinking Ahead Institute’s (TAI) latest Global Pension Assets Study. Its previous 2022 study measured the largest annual fall in global pension assets since the global financial crisis following a decade of uninterrupted growth. At the end of 2022, global pension assets stood at US$50.2trn. The UK overtook Canada to become the third largest pension market by total assets, which stood at US$3.2trn at the end of 2023. The...

February 26, 2024
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15Feb

US. Public retirement systems’ investment management expenses dip to 4-year low

Public retirement systems saw their investment management expenses drop significantly in fiscal 2023 from the prior year, reaching a four-year low, according to an annual study by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. In fiscal 2023, surveyed retirement systems averaged investment management expenses of 39 basis points, down from 49 basis points the year before, while administrative expenses remained steady, according to the study. A Feb. 12 news release revealing the results of the study said the four-year low...

February 15, 2024
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14Feb

Ghana. SSNIT supports pensioners’ healthcare with GHC1million

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has presented a cheque for GHS 1 million to the National Pensioners Association’s (NPA) medical scheme. The contribution is in fulfilment of a commitment by SSNIT’s management made in 2017 to prioritise the well-being of pensioners under the SSNIT Scheme in the country. Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, Director-General of SSNIT, speaking at the ceremony in Accra, reaffirmed the Trust’s support for the activities and welfare of the Association. The commitment, he stressed, demonstrated the Trust’s...

February 14, 2024
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13Feb

AI’s impact can’t be overstated – BlackRock and Invesco execs

By COURTNEY DEGEN   Artificial intelligence will have a tremendous impact on the economy, healthcare and other industries, executives from BlackRock and Invesco said Feb. 12 at the Exchange ETF conference in Miami Beach, Fla. "It's hard to overstate the impact of AI on the economy (and) on different industries," said Jay Jacobs, U.S. head of thematics and active equity ETFs at BlackRock. AI is what Jacobs called a "platform technology," meaning "it is going to bring other industries into the fold that maybe don't even exist...

February 13, 2024
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12Feb

US. Diversity kept in mind, but not a priority, among pension plans in manager hires

When hiring money managers, U.S. pension funds say they have one thing to make clear: It is their fiduciary duty to prioritize firms that can generate strong returns and mitigate risks. But there are ways that funds make their selection while promoting diversity, regardless of whether they have formal policies for hiring minority- and women-owned programs. Aside from encouraging inclusiveness within the asset management industry, considering the identity of a firm's ownership in hiring practices can help allocators create a broad...

February 12, 2024
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08Feb

US. Shell Closes $4.9B Pension Risk Transfer With Prudential

Prudential Financial Inc. announced on Wednesday it had closed a $4.9 billion pension risk transfer deal with Shell USA Inc. The transaction would be the first major pension risk transfer in the U.S. this year, following record years for the pension risk transfer market in 2022 and 2023.  “Prudential is honored to help continue meeting the retirement security needs of Shell’s retirees,” said Alexandra Hyten, head of institutional retirement strategies at Prudential, in a statement. “We are confident that our commitment...

February 8, 2024
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08Feb

U.K. pension funds may consider climate change – Financial Markets Law Committee

The U.K. committee advising the markets on financial law said pension trustees may consider climate change when making investment decisions, allaying long-standing concerns that incorporating key ESG factors could be a breach of fiduciary duty. The Financial Markets Law Committee said U.K. trustees are required to make "careful" decisions, and that includes considering factors such as climate change that market prices may not yet reflect, in a Feb. 6 paper. While targeted at pension funds, the committee said its conclusions are...

February 8, 2024
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