October 2021
26Oct

Canada. LifeWorks releases the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers’ Pooled Funds

LifeWorks (TSX: LWRK) has released the results of its Performance Universe of Pension Managers’ Pooled Funds for the third quarter of 2021. Read also UK. FCA creates LTAF, a new investment fund for pension schemes and specialized investors According to the report, in the third quarter of 2021, diversified pooled fund managers posted a median return of 0.7 per cent before management fees and 8.0 per cent since the beginning of the year. Read also Pandemic Offers This Silver Lining For Retirement...

October 26, 2021
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21Oct

UK financial regulator faces probe over pension advice scandal

The UK’s financial regulator is to be investigated by the parliamentary spending watchdog over its handling of a multimillion pound pension scandal which has left thousands of steelworkers facing retirement losses. Read also UK. 39% of DC schemes failing to take account of ESG in default strategies The National Audit Office on Wednesday announced a probe into the Financial Conduct Authority’s activities in relation to the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), dating back to 2017. Read also UK. Survey highlights lack of...

October 21, 2021
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12Oct

DC execs think U.K. government should raise mandatory contribution rates

U.K. executives that oversee defined contribution plans think the government should increase mandatory contribution rates and did not change their approach to running their plans as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Read also UK. Govt launches consultation on NHS pension scheme changes A joint survey by Mercer and the Confederation of British Industry, which represents U.K. businesses, also showed that although businesses support an expansion of automatic enrollment, a significant minority currently can't afford higher minimum contribution levels. Read also U.K....

October 12, 2021
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Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting

By Daniel C. Esty, Todd Cort Sustainable investing is a rapidly growing and evolving field. With investors expressing ever greater interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics and reporting, companies face a sustainability imperative and the need to remake their business models to respond to an array of pressing issues including climate change, air and water pollution, racial justice, workplace diversity, economic inequality, privacy, corporate integrity, and good governance. From equities to fixed income and from private equity to...

October 1, 2021
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September 2021
30Sep

Japan’s GPIF won’t buy China’s sovereign debt

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, the world's largest pension fund, said it won't include yuan-denominated Chinese sovereign debt in its portfolio. The decision comes as FTSE Russell is set to start adding Chinese debt to its benchmark global bond index, which the GPIF follows, starting in October. The pension fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond index that excludes Chinese government bonds, Hiroshi Nagaoka, an official at the pension fund, told Bloomberg News. Minutes from a July...

September 30, 2021
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29Sep

Canada’s second-largest pension fund says first to exit oil assets

Canada’s No. 2 pension fund, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, said Tuesday it will shed all of its oil production assets, valued at C$3.9 billion ($3.08 billion), by the end of 2022 and reduce carbon intensity by 60% by 2030. It said it would be the first institutional investor in Canada to exit oil production assets. As part of a plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Montreal-based Caisse plans to hold green assets worth C$54 billion by 2025...

September 29, 2021
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24Sep

Uber to pay pensions to all its UK drivers, backdated to 2017

Uber is to pay out millions of pounds in missed pension payments to UK drivers dating back as far as 2017 under a deal with the retirement savings watchdog. The ride hailing company was forced to guarantee its 70,000 UK drivers a minimum hourly wage, holiday pay and pensions in March this year after a landmark supreme court ruling over their employment status. Couriers for the group’s UberEats food delivery service are not included in the deal. On Friday, Uber said...

September 24, 2021
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23Sep

Nigeria: Challenging Times for PFAs

The Contributory Pension Scheme administered by the PFAs has since inception, 17 years ago, recorded some achievements as well as met obstacles. In this report, Ebere Nwoji takes a look at the performance of the scheme in the face of the down turn in Nigeria's economy. The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) regime in Nigeria was established by the Pension Reform Act 2004 amended in 2014, which put the Management of pension fund in the hands of private Organisations called Pension...

September 23, 2021
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17Sep

Driving Value for Money in defined contribution pensions

By The Pensions Regulator & Financial Conduct Authority This discussion paper was published jointly by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator. A focus on Value for Money (VFM) is a key part of ensuring defined contribution (DC) pensions maximise the income savers have at retirement. In this discussion paper, we invite views on developing a holistic framework and related metrics to assess VFM in all FCA and TPR regulated DC pension schemes (workplace and non-workplace). At this stage, we...

September 17, 2021
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07Sep

Sustainable investing gaining ground in Asia

Sustainable investing continues to gain ground in Asia, with governments, pension plans and asset managers moving to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their investment strategies, a new study finds. Globally, most pension fund investors stayed the course with their asset allocation, even amid heightened volatility and uncertainty over the last year, according Mercer’s Asset Allocation Insights 2021 report. Foreign equities now represent 51% of aggregate equity allocations globally, the first time since 2013 that exposure outside of investors’...

September 7, 2021
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