Returns Archives - Pension Policy International

15JulJuly 15, 2026

US. CalPERS Posts 14.8% Preliminary Investment Return

Strong performance in both its public and private equity portfolios helped the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) achieve a preliminary net investment return of 14.8% for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2026, the pension system reported Monday. The 2025-26 fiscal year return exceeded both last year’s 11.6% performance and the assumed 6.8% rate of return set by the CalPERS Board of Administration. It is also CalPERS’ highest mark in five years and represents a four-year trend of higher...

July 15, 2026

NewsReturns, US

10JulJuly 10, 2026

Regulatory Priorities: Pensions

By Financial Conduct Authority The Regulatory Priorities report for the pensions sector includes the following priorities: Ensuring well-run schemes that provide value for money to savers: The FCA explains that it expects the proposed workplace pensions Value for Money framework and the Government’s wider Pension Schemes Bill to help drive positive change and that it wants firms to engage in the development of these changes and prepare to implement and embed them in a way that best supports savers. Encouraging effective...

July 10, 2026

Books, Books, Regulation, Reports2026, Pensions Management, Public Policy, Regulation, Returns, UK

03JulJuly 3, 2026

How Rational Is AI Investment Advice? Risk-Return Relevance in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Investments

By Nanying Lin, Oscar Gilbert & Tianxiang Chu Textbook finance theories indicate that investors demand risk premia from risky assets as compensation for risk and for hedging against future unfavorable economic states. We design a comprehensive study to examine whether investment advice generated by artificial intelligence (AI) reflects a coherent risk–return pattern in investment decision-making. We find that AI advises investors to increase stock investments when return increases and reduce stock allocations when stock volatility increases. However, AI ignores the...

July 3, 2026

Articles, InvestmentAI, Investment, Pension Management, Returns, Risk

01JulJuly 1, 2026

Retirees Don’t Need to Fear a Lost Decade. They Need a Plan

We recently interviewed flat-fee financial advisor Adam Grossman for Morningstar’s “The Long View” podcast and asked him about his biggest worry for current retirees. The answer? The possibility of another “lost decade,” when stocks fail to generate positive returns over an extended period. The last time that happened was during the 2000s, when the bear market in tech stocks early in the decade was followed by another series of sharp losses during the global financial crisis. An event like that is particularly...

July 1, 2026

NewsPension Management, Returns

16JunJune 16, 2026

US. Investment Returns Outweigh Small Liability Jump for Pension Finances

Surging investment returns outpaced slow-growing liabilities in May, bringing the funded status of the 100 largest U.S. corporate defined benefit pension funds to 109.6%—the highest ratio recorded since the 109.9% mark observed in July 2001—according to Milliman’s Pension Funding Index. Thanks to last month’s robust 2.22% investment return, more than quadruple Milliman’s expected rate of 0.53%, the market value of Milliman 100 plan assets grew $22 billion during May. The projected pension liability for Milliman 100 plans increased by $4 billion over...

June 16, 2026

NewsFunding, Returns, US

02JunJune 2, 2026

South Korea. [Retirement Pension Investment Strategy] “During Booms, Focus on Indexes… Systematic Investing Is Key to Beating Volatility”

Last year, for the first time ever, the accumulated amount of retirement pension funds in Korea surpassed 500 trillion won, illustrating the continuous growth of the domestic retirement pension market. In addition, the Korean stock market has been experiencing a record-breaking bull run, and the domestic exchange-traded fund (ETF) market has also expanded to 500 trillion won, leading to greater public interest in financial investment than ever before. However, despite this rapid growth, the polarization of returns among retirement...

June 2, 2026

NewsEquality, Returns, South Korea

07MayMay 7, 2026

Canadian DB pension plans return 0.4% in Q1 2026 amid geopolitical tensions: report

The typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan posted a median return of 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, according to a new report by RBC Investor Services. It found Canadian equity allocations returned 3.9 per cent in the quarter, matching the TSX composite index. Energy led sector gains with a 30.1 per cent surge following the Strait of Hormuz closure, while materials rose strongly early in the period, pulled back significantly in March and finished with a...

May 7, 2026

NewsCanada, Investment, Returns

18MarMarch 18, 2026

UK pension investors cut US exposures amid global volatility

UK institutional investors responded to last year’s trade, tariff and geopolitical disruption with selective changes rather than wholesale portfolio resets, according to new research. Figures from Nuveen’s 2026 EQuilibrium Global Institutional Investor Survey showed that 11% of UK investors made significant portfolio changes in response to the disruptions of 2025, the second-highest proportion globally. But the survey also suggests investors did not see the year simply as a source of risk: 73% said 2025 delivered more upside than downside to their...

March 18, 2026

NewsInvestment, Returns, UK

10MarMarch 10, 2026

Gen X Americans Face New Retirement Savings Threat

Generation X Americans could face new pressure on their retirement savings as the economic fallout from the war in Iran ripples through global markets. Now in its second week, the U.S. helmed conflict has pushed oil prices up sharply as bombing impacts regions critical to the production and movement of energy from the Persian Gulf. The price of Brent crude, which is the international benchmark, has surged to $119.50 per barrel. This morning, the NASDAQ fell by more than 1...

March 10, 2026

NewsReturns, Risk, US

08JanJanuary 8, 2026

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

News2026, Investment, Occupational Pensions, Returns

July 2026

US. CalPERS Posts 14.8% Preliminary Investment Return

Regulatory Priorities: Pensions

How Rational Is AI Investment Advice? Risk-Return Relevance in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Investments

Retirees Don’t Need to Fear a Lost Decade. They Need a Plan

June 2026

US. Investment Returns Outweigh Small Liability Jump for Pension Finances

South Korea. [Retirement Pension Investment Strategy] “During Booms, Focus on Indexes… Systematic Investing Is Key to Beating Volatility”

May 2026

Canadian DB pension plans return 0.4% in Q1 2026 amid geopolitical tensions: report

March 2026

UK pension investors cut US exposures amid global volatility

Gen X Americans Face New Retirement Savings Threat

January 2026

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