April 2026

Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier in Contemporary Conflicts: Pathways, Evidence, and Legal-Policy Responses

By Hope Tendo This paper examines climate change as a “threat multiplier” in contemporary conflicts by analysing its causal pathways, empirical support, and the legal-policy responses required to mitigate associated security risks. It argues that climate change rarely operates as a direct driver of violence but instead intensifies existing socio-economic, political, and institutional vulnerabilities. The study evaluates scholarly and policy literature demonstrating that climatic stress interacts with fragile governance, contested land and resource tenure, livelihood insecurity, migration pressures, and state...

March 2026

Australian $240 billion pension fund snaps up Japanese, European stocks and UK bonds

Australia's No.2 pension fund has ​increased its global equities, Australian and British bond investments, some of the world's most sold-off ‌asset classes, in the past month to take advantage of financial market volatility created by the Iran war. The Australian Retirement Trust, which has A$350 billion ($240.42 billion) in funds under management, is carrying out more direct market trading than usual, according to ​Jimmy Louca, a senior portfolio manager at the fund. ART has a dynamic asset allocation strategy in ​which...

Pensions get selective as geopolitical risk, energy shocks hits global markets

As geopolitical turmoil continues to shape markets, pension investors are being forced to adjust their portfolio playbook accordingly. But David Kletz, lead portfolio manager at Forstrong Global Asset Management, warns that complacency remains a dangerous undercurrent across institutional portfolios. He sees a disconnect between the scale of geopolitical turmoil and how markets are responding to it. And despite significant moves in asset prices, global equity markets have not priced in the possibility that current conflicts could escalate further "I think there's...

​Climate risks ‘still mispriced’ despite $1.3trn corporate exposure

Financial markets may still be underestimating the investment impact of extreme weather, despite listed companies facing an estimated $1.3trn (£1trn) in losses over the next year alone, according to a new report from the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI). The report, developed by Marsh Risk along with Impax Asset Management’s Sustainability Centre, argues that physical climate risks are already affecting portfolios through asset damage, supply chain disruption, and impaired company performance – but are not yet being fully reflected in valuations. Its...

UK. Modern pensions policy has to move beyond ‘simple paternalism’

The pensions industry must prepare for a fundamental shift in saver behaviour driven by technology, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, has said, warning that policy must move beyond “simple paternalism” as engagement increases. Speaking at the J.P. Morgan Pensions and Savings Symposium 2026, Rathi said that forthcoming pensions dashboards and digital tools could significantly alter how consumers interact with their retirement savings. “Modern pensions policy has to move beyond that kind of simple paternalism,” he stated, arguing that...

UK. Pension transfer ‘sludge tactics’ eroding saver trust

Pension transfer delays and administrative barriers are undermining trust in the UK pensions system, Penfold co-founder and CEO, Chris Eastwood, has warned, amid growing scrutiny of so-called 'sludge tactics'. The comments come as a national debate over pension transfer practices has intensified, with growing public support for a legally enforceable 10-day guarantee to switch pensions. Industry data suggested that while average transfer times stood at around 10-12 days, this masked inconsistencies, with some providers completing transfers in under four days while others took more than...

War and Pensions: The Effects of War on Social Security and Pensions Around the World

By John A. Turner, David Rajnes, Gerard Hughes & Maher Michelle War has affected the development of social security and employer-provided pensions. Roman soldiers received the first pensions. In most countries, military pensions preceded social security pensions, providing countries experience with the concept and administration of pensions. War or the threat of war affected the development of the two major branches of social insurance-based pensions—Bismarckian (earnings related pensions developed in Germany) and Beveridgian (pensions tied to years of work developed...

Banking and Financial Unions Challenge Joaquín Cortez’s Appointment as Superintendent of Pensions

Union organizations asserted that Joaquín Cortez's education at the Pontifical Catholic University and the University of Chicago "is not an anecdotal detail but a clear signal of his ideological imprint, the same one that shaped the individual capitalization system imposed during the dictatorship and turned pensions into a business rather than a right." In a public statement, the Confederation of Banking and Financial Unions expressed concerns over the appointment of Joaquín Cortez (featured in the photo) as Superintendent of Pensions,...

How the UK’s largest pension schemes have navigated recent volatility

Leading pension scheme investment bosses have highlighted the importance of appropriate governance processes to help navigate periods of volatility. On a panel discussion at the Pensions UK Investment Conference in Edinburgh this week, senior representatives from three of the UK’s largest pension managers explained that clear delegation and communication were key to successfully navigating volatility. Joe McDonnell, chief investment officer at Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, said his asset allocation committee had been meeting “more frequently” in recent weeks to assess...

92% of pension professionals say administration is as important as investment and strategy, XPS polling finds

More than nine in ten (92%) pension professionals believe administration is as important as investment and funding strategy in running a well-governed scheme, according to new polling by XPS Group. The findings are based on responses gathered during a recent XPS webinar examining the evolving role of pension administration amid growing regulatory focus. When asked whether administration is a core pillar of the pensions industry infrastructure (145 responses): 92% agreed it is as important as investment and strategy 8% somewhat agreed ...