March 2020
04Mar

Milliman Launches Index to Track Pension Risk Transfer Market

By Michael Katz Actuarial and consulting firm Milliman has launched a pension buyout index that estimates the average cost of a pension risk transfer strategy. The firm said it created the Milliman Pension Buyout Index (MPBI) because plan sponsors considering a plan termination or de-risking strategy need to be able to monitor the annuity market, which continues to show strong growth. According to the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute, almost half of all defined benefit pension plans in the US...

March 4, 2020
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03Mar

UK. Pension transfer market needs regulation, says industry

Ministers are facing calls to give powers to regulators to supervise the corporate pension transfer market after claims that companies are pressuring employees to quit their valuable retirement schemes. Senior figures in the pension industry said a voluntary code of practice that is meant to prevent abuses by employers was no longer working. The concerns centre on how employers have the ability to initiate exercises under which workers who are members of their defined benefit pension schemes can swap...

March 3, 2020
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February 2020

27Feb

The Netherlands: Pensions funds will change risk-free rate – Rabobank

The Dutch newspaper Telegraaf reported this morning that all parties involved in the pension reform discussion agreed on changing the risk-free rate term structure for Dutch pension funds. The pension agreement has been redefined and only one new pension contract remains. Bas van Zanden, Senior Pension Analyst at Rabobank, expects a decrease in demand for hedging by Dutch pension funds. Key quotes “The pension contract will split up all pension funds into an: Accrual phase – Every...

February 27, 2020
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26Feb

Athene Announces Pension Buyout Agreement With Armstrong World Industries

Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) (NYSE: ATH), a leading retirement services company, announced a pension buyout agreement with Armstrong World Industries (“Armstrong”) (NYSE: AWI), a leader in the design and manufacture of innovative commercial and residential ceiling, wall and suspension system solutions in the Americas. Under the terms of the transaction, Athene’s wholly-owned Iowa-domiciled life insurance subsidiary, Athene Annuity and Life Company (“AAIA”), and Athene’s wholly-owned New York-domiciled life insurance subsidiary, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York...

February 26, 2020
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24Feb

‘Massive Risk’ Drives ESG Bets at $108 Billion Finnish Funds

Two of Finland’s biggest pension funds, with combined assets of $108 billion, are determined to make their portfolios carbon neutral over the next decade and a half, in a race to dodge the fallout of global warming before it’s too late. “Climate change is such a massive risk factor for companies in the future,” Anna Hyrske, head of responsible investments at Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co., said in an interview. Climate change has been on the agenda for years,...

February 24, 2020
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18Feb

UK. Legal & General completes first pension risk transfer deal for housing

Legal & General (L&G) has invested £100m of long term debt financing in its affordable housing business – opening the door for UK pension money to back the provision of such homes. Secured against the income stream of a UK-wide portfolio of operational affordable housing, this represents its first deal to generate attractive matching-adjustment, compliant direct investments from affordable housing for its growing annuity portfolio. A further £175m of development finance is being provided by a consortium of external investors...

February 18, 2020
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04Feb

Longevity and risk transfer: a booming market

Last year marked a record year for the UK’s pension risk transfer (PRT) market, with an estimated £50bn (€59bn) worth of transactions completed, including buy-ins, buyouts, and longevity swaps. The total was almost double that of the previous year, according to Mercer, which compiled the figures, and there were several innovative approaches to buy-ins and buyouts as demand from pension funds and competition among insurers reached new highs. Communications company Telent conducted the biggest single deal of the...

February 4, 2020
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January 2020

23Jan

Ford to take $2.2 billion fourth-quarter loss related to pensions

Ford Motor Co. said late Wednesday it expects to take a fourth-quarter pretax charge of $2.2 billion related to pension obligations that will cut down on its net income. After taxes, the $2.2 billion loss is expected to slash Ford’s net income by about $1.7 billion, Ford F, -1.42% said in a filing. As it is a special item, the loss will not affect adjusted profit or adjusted per-share profit, the car maker said. It also did not...

January 23, 2020
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21Jan

Head of Canada Pension Fund Warns on Rush to Iliquid Assets

The biggest global funds should all be monitoring their investments in illiquid assets, according to the head of Canada’s largest pension fund. “I do ring the alarm bell on not to be too invested in illiquid assets,” Mark Machin, chief executive officer of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said in a Bloomberg Television interview Monday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We are very comfortable with our risk models and what we would do in various lurches...

January 21, 2020
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09Jan

Inside a Pension Fund’s Search for a Risk Management System

The LACERA investment team recommended MSCI’s risk analytics over competitors including BlackRock’s Aladdin system and FactSet. After a lengthy search, the investment team at the Los Angeles County Employees’ Retirement Association has settled on a new risk analytics provider. The investment team has recommended that its board hire MSCI Analytics to provide total fund analytics for the $59.6 billion pension fund, according to the agenda from a LACERA investment board meeting held on Wednesday. MSCI beat out rivals including FactSet and...

January 9, 2020
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