January 2026
08Jan

German dentists’ pension fund sues advisers after C$1.77B loss

A pension fund for more than 10,000 German dentists has launched legal action against its former auditor, an external adviser and several ex-managers after suffering investment losses of over €1.1 billion (about C$1.77 billion), according to reporting by Bloomberg and AwazLive. Versorgungswerk der Zahnärztekammer Berlin (VZB), which manages roughly €2.2 billion (C$3.55 billion) for dentists in Berlin, Brandenburg and Bremen, said the losses were significant enough to prompt a corruption probe by Berlin prosecutors. In legal filings, the fund alleges that...

January 8, 2026
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December 2025
22Dec

Mexico Retirement Funds Log Record MX$1.12 Trillion Returns

Retirement savings for Mexican workers posted historic returns in 2025, as Administrators of Retirement Funds (Afores) recorded total gains—or plusvalías—of MX$1.12 trillion from January through November. According to data from the National Commission for the Retirement Savings System (CONSAR), this represents the highest level ever recorded for the period. Despite the record cumulative performance, the pace of growth in Afores’ returns moderated in November compared with previous months. Positive returns for the month totaled MX$32.608 billion, a 77% decline from...

December 22, 2025
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19Dec

Dynamic asset allocation on the rise as pension plans face an era of controlled disorder

By Prof. Amin Rajan This question has come to the fore as the swirling clouds of geopolitical events have elevated the role of dynamic asset allocation (DAA). They have challenged the timehonoured primacy of strategic asset allocation (SAA), with fixed weights for different asset classes with long-term return targets. This rigid set-it/forget-it approach worked well in the longest bull run after the 2008 global financial crisis. Since 2022, however, concerted steep rises in interest rates by key central banks to curb...

December 19, 2025
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19Dec

State of OECD Pension Funds’ Climate Transition: Insights and recommendations from the Net Zero Finance Tracker

By Frederick Fabian, Claris Parenti, Maddy Taylor & Valerio Micale Unlike other institutional investors, which often focus on short-term performance, pension providers have a fiduciary duty to address long-term systemic issues and act in their beneficiaries’ best interests. In many jurisdictions, this obligation includes setting credible climate targets, implementing internal changes to strategy, governance, and process, and actively supporting the decarbonization of the real economy. Pension funds’ role in financing the climate transition is drawing sharper focus as the limits of...

December 19, 2025
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16Dec

November Delivers Mixed Results for Pension Finances

Pension finances experienced a modest pullback in November, marking the first negative month since March, according to October Three Consulting’s “November Pension Finance Update.” Meanwhile, some measures reported a small increase in funding levels over the same period. Both model plans October Three tracks lost ground last month. Plan A, a traditional 60/40 equity/bond allocation, lost almost 1%, ending November up 6% for the year. The more conservative Plan B, comprised of 80% bonds, lost a fraction of 1% last...

December 16, 2025
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October 2025
30Oct

World’s largest sovereign wealth fund returns 5.8% amid AI optimism

Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund — the largest of its kind in the world — on Wednesday reported a 5.8% return during the third quarter, powered by strong stock market gains and AI optimism. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) manages the fund on behalf of the Norwegian population. Set up in the 1990s to invest excess revenues from Norway’s oil and gas industry, the enormous Government Pension Fund Global is currently invested in assets across 70 countries, including almost 9,000 companies. Its...

October 30, 2025
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September 2025
29Sep

China’s local pension fund reaps over 5 pct investment return in 2024

China's local pension fund saw a return on investments of 5.52 percent in 2024, official data showed on Monday. The fund, managed by the National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF), generated investment income of nearly 105.69 billion yuan (about 14.87 billion U.S. dollars) last year, according to the NCSSF's annual report. Despite rising economic challenges at home and abroad in 2024, the NCSSF managed to preserve and grow the value of the fund, thereby helping to bolster the country's efforts...

September 29, 2025
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August 2025
28Aug

US. BlackRock decries ‘politicizing’ pension fund management

Top asset manager BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab on Wednesday pushed back against pressure from U.S. Republican and Democratic officials, saying both sides have injected politics into the running of retirement assets and it only seeks to fulfill its fiduciary duties to clients. The message isn't new but it came in an unusual memo the company sent to 43 state treasurers, auditors and other officials of both major political parties, seen by Reuters. In late July, 26 Republicans signed on to a letter, opens...

August 28, 2025
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01Aug

Competition Among Dutch Pension Funds: Is there Any?

By Jacob Antoon Bikker & Jeroen Meringa This paper adds to the literature by analysing for the first time the functioning of the Dutch pension funds market from a competition or efficiency perspective. Of course, competition is severely limited on this highly regulated market. The analyses focus on a key property of well-functioning markets: the reward of efficiency. The conclusion can be drawn that in the market for pension funds efficiency is indeed rewarded, up to a certain level. New...

August 1, 2025
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July 2025
25Jul

Unintended Consequences: How Scaling Back Public Pensions Puts Government Revenues at Risk

By National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems The argument that taxpayers cannot afford public pensions has gained traction despite a woeful lack of empirical evidence to support it. Legislators across the nation are contemplating options for the future funding of public-sector worker retirement benefits at a time when competition for finite state and local resources is fierce. The reasons are familiar: the lingering effects of recession and misguided budget priorities have taken a toll. Time and again, defined-benefit pensions...

July 25, 2025
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