April 2022
27Apr

Canada. IMCO returns 9.6% in 2021, outperforming its benchmark

Investment Management Corp. of Ontario, Toronto, delivered a weighted average net return of its clients' portfolios of 9.6% for the year ended Dec. 31, vs. a consolidated benchmark return of 8.5%. IMCO's assets under management climbed to C$79 billion ($61.8 billion) at the end of 2021, up 7.8% from a year earlier, the firm said in a news release Monday. By asset class, private equity performed the best in 2021, returning a net 19.2% (above the 16.9% performance by its benchmark);...

April 27, 2022
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26Apr

UK. Two thirds of investors prioritise returns over ESG

Two thirds of UK retail investors do not mind if their investments are sustainable but are instead focused on the returns they bring in. Some 66 per cent of the 1,000 investors surveyed by Charles Schwab UK said they are purely focussed on maximising returns. Just under half (44 per cent) of respondents said they regularly consider environmental, social and governance factors when making a new investment. This drops to 28 per cent among the ‘Boomer’ generation (aged between 57 and 75),...

April 26, 2022
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14Apr

Principal Financial poised to take stake in Chinese pension manager

Principal Financial Group is poised to become only the third foreign firm to take a stake in a Chinese pension management firm on the mainland. A "change of shareholders" announcement on the website of CCB Pension Management Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Beijing-based China Construction Bank, said Wednesday that subject to approval by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Principal will acquire a 17.65% stake in CCB Pension Management. The announcement said China Construction Bank will transfer 15 percentage points...

April 14, 2022
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11Apr

The Danish Pension System: Design, Performance, and Challenges

By Andersen, Hougaard Jensen & Rangvid The need for pension reform is widely discussed against the backdrop of falling fertility rates and rising longevity. These developments challenge pension systems which in many countries already encounter problems with pension adequacy and financial sustainability. In the debate, reference is often made to Denmark as a model for pension system reform. This book offers the first coherent and in-depth description and analysis of the Danish pension system; its structure and performance. As is well-known to...

April 11, 2022
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06Apr

How climate investors are getting ready for the carbon removal boom

The world is hurtling towards irreversible and catastrophic warming. The goals of the Paris climate accord are fast slipping out of reach. At least we know what to do. In the face of the gathering climate threat, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report strikes a decidedly ‘can-do’ attitude. Global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 as fossil fuels are rapidly scaled down. And carbon removal technologies, as well as natural solutions, will be necessary to make up for hard-to-abate...

April 6, 2022
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04Apr

UK. Majority of young savers adverse to risk in their pensions

Just over a quarter (26 per cent) of savers aged 18-30 feel they can afford to take on some risk with their pensions, even though they are many years away from retirement, new analysis from PensionBee has revealed. The survey, which included responses from over 500 British savers, discovered that only 7 per cent of young savers reported that they were currently invested in a high-risk pension scheme, despite having the longest time horizon to recoup any losses. PensionBee also found...

April 4, 2022
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March 2022

Private Equity’s Opaque Costs Mystify the Pensions That Pay Them
30Mar

Private Equity’s Opaque Costs Mystify the Pensions That Pay Them

On top of management fees, investors pay for a variety of funds’ business expenses, from travel to research to “other.” The stewards of billions of dollars in retiree savings are struggling to account for fees charged by one of the wealthiest industries on Wall Street. Investors who put money into a private equity fund expect to pay a management fee as well as a share of their profits to the firm running the fund. But on top of those costs are...

March 30, 2022
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AIG shifting $150 billion to BlackRock
29Mar

AIG shifting $150 billion to BlackRock

American International Group hired BlackRock to manage up to $60 billion of its general account and up to $90 billion in its life and retirement investment portfolio, the insurance company announced on Monday. BlackRock will manage "certain liquid fixed income and private placement assets" and also will provide AIG with investment technology for both portfolios via Aladdin, the money manager's risk-management system, the insurer said in a news release. AIG said in the release that the shift of assets to BlackRock...

March 29, 2022
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US. SEC takes ‘monumental' step on climate disclosure
29Mar

US. SEC takes ‘monumental’ step on climate disclosure

More than a year in the works, the Securities and Exchange Commission unveiled its much-anticipated climate disclosure rule proposal this month, with major implications for the investor and business communities. "It's a monumental rule-making initiative," said Erin E. Martin, a Washington-based partner with law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP who previously worked in the SEC's division of corporation finance. "This has been a long time coming, it's been highly anticipated by the public, it's an area that's of interest...

March 29, 2022
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25Mar

High Pay Centre briefing: Pension saver views on the social and environmental impact of investments

By Andrew Speke & Luke Hildyard Pension savings make up a significant and growing proportion of individual wealth in the UK. The latest government figures from 2018 show that £2.6 trillion is invested in UK pensions, up from £2.3 trillion in 2015.(1) Pension savings are also one of the most commonly held forms of wealth in the UK. The percentage of adults below the State Pension age actively contributing to a private pension has increased, from 43% in 2012, to 53%...

March 25, 2022
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