January 2024
24Jan

UK pension funds turn to renewable energy investment

UK pension funds and insurers are keen to increase allocations to renewable energy in the coming years, according to new research. A survey by AlphaReal, a specialist real assets manager, found that a majority of pension funds and insurers planned to increase their allocation to renewable energy in the next year. The survey, which included institutions with a combined £360bn in assets under management, found that 90% of respondents planned to increase their allocation to renewables, with the remaining 10% open...

January 24, 2024
News, , ,
Read more...
23Jan

US. ‘Too few’ public pension funds address climate in proxy voting — report

"Too few" public pension funds are addressing climate-related financial risk when it comes to proxy voting, according to a report released Jan. 23 by nonprofit organizations Sierra Club, Stand.earth and Stop the Money Pipeline. The report, "The Hidden Risk in State Pensions: Analyzing State Pensions' Responses to the Climate Crisis in Proxy Voting," looked at 24 public pension funds with a collective $2 trillion in assets, including the $241.7 billion New York City Retirement Systems and state pension funds in California,...

January 23, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
22Jan

Japan pension giant GPIF opens door to more asset managers

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund plans to expand its choice of asset managers, bringing in newer companies as part of a push into active management. "We look forward to discovering superior asset management companies by opening our door wider," GPIF President Masataka Miyazono told reporters Friday. The move comes as GPIF, one of the world's biggest institutional investors, steps up its pursuit of market-beating returns. The fund had about 220 trillion yen ($1.48 trillion) in assets under management at the end of...

January 22, 2024
News,
Read more...
16Jan

Canada: Understanding Cyber Risks For Pension Plan Administrators, ACPM

As pension plans are increasingly relying on technology in their administration, there is a corresponding focus on keeping plan assets safe and protecting the rights and interests of plan beneficiaries. Pension plans involve significant amounts of confidential, personal data and assets, making them targets for criminal activity. Pension plan administrators and sponsors are expected to be prepared to recognize, prevent or minimize damage in the event of harm from cyber risks. What this means for how pension administrators discharge their...

January 16, 2024
News,
Read more...
15Jan

Investors ‘flying blind’ into legal risk of climate change, Oxford researchers warn

As investors assess climate-related financial risk, they are "flying blind" to the risk of climate lawsuits that could hit companies with trillions in damages, according to a research report from Oxford Sustainable Law Programme published Jan. 11 in Science. The Oxford Sustainable Law Programme is a joint initiative of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford, England. Current practices used by investors to assess the financial risk of climate change...

January 15, 2024
News, , ,
Read more...
12Jan

UK. Six key pensions issues and trends in 2024: How many will affect you?

Here are our thoughts on the key issues and trends for pension scheme employers and trustees in 2024. The year ahead will see some major changes to pensions law, with the abolition of the pensions lifetime allowance from 6 April 2024 as well as the introduction of a new funding regime for defined benefit schemes. We also consider the broader market trends we are seeing in relation to scheme surpluses, buy-outs, and a focus on the "end game" for...

January 12, 2024
News,
Read more...
12Jan

US. Pension Plans in ’23: Glass Half Full—and Half Empty

“Best condition this century.” Or, “improved” but “fragile.” Both characterizations of the state of pensions in 2023. Which applies depends on which pension system one is talking about. Better, But… State and local pension plans saw improvement in 2023, but there is still plenty of room for more, according to Anthony Randazzo and Jonathan Moody in Equable’s research brief “The State of Pensions 2023,” which looks at how public pensions fared in the year that was. Randazzo and Moody write that the...

January 12, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
11Jan

Most US Public Pension Funds Are Distressed, per Equable Report

Most state and municipal public pension funds are distressed or fragile, with funded ratios of less than 90%, according to the Equable Institute’s State of Pensions 2023 report, a year-end update. The report used the last reported data available from public pension funds. The report noted that at least 33 funds have not released year-end fiscal 2022 data. The report tracked 232 pension funds in the U.S. “Funding improvement in 2023 is both welcome and disappointing,” said the Equable Institute’s executive...

January 11, 2024
News,
Read more...
11Jan

China Is Fast Losing Its Place as Must-Have in Global Portfolios

Years of harrowing losses have left Chinese stocks with a diminished standing in global portfolios, a trend that’s likely to accelerate as some of the world’s biggest funds distance themselves from the risk-ridden market. An analysis of filings by 14 US pension funds with investments in Chinese stocks show most of them have reduced their holdings since 2020. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System and New York State Common Retirement Fund, among the nation’s biggest pension investors, cut their exposure...

January 11, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
09Jan

U.S. pension risk transfer sales increased 39% in Q3 2023: report

U.S. pension risk transfer sales increased by 39 per cent during the third quarter of 2023, according to a report by LIMRA. It found single premium buyout sales were US$8.1 billion, 69 per cent lower than this time last year. Year-to-date, buyout sales fell 30 per cent to $28.9 billion compared to 2022. There were 203 buyout contracts in the quarter, a 40 per cent year-over-year increase, and year to date, there were 483 buyout contracts completed, more than double...

January 9, 2024
News, ,
Read more...