March 2022
16Mar

US. The Smart Way for Public Pensions to Divest from Russia

With Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine demanding a response from freedom-loving peoples everywhere, the NATO nations and other countries around the world have embarked on a wide range of economic sanctions. Some of them are far more extensive than anybody had previously imagined possible, such as the freezing of Russian central bank assets and its global interbank access, and now the U.S. oil boycott. Amid this global expression of scorn, American state and local politicians are jumping on the...

March 16, 2022
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16Mar

UK. What impact could the Russian invasion of Ukraine have on pensions?

The terrible atrocities in Ukraine have had major consequences on the world from creating a large-scale humanitarian crisis to unnerving global stock markets. But platform Interactive Investor (II) said that the latter has “implications for the value of pension pots and by extension, retirement plans”. Read also China markets in turmoil as Russia ties add to list of risks Initially, the concern among pension savers was that they did not want to be invested in Russian companies. A number of pension providers...

March 16, 2022
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UK pension schemes have little direct exposure to Russia, regulator says
15Mar

UK pension schemes have little direct exposure to Russia, regulator says

British pension schemes have very little investment in Russian securities, The Pensions Regulator's policy director said on Monday, though he added there were practical difficulties in selling them. Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has led to many firms rushing to offload Russian assets, though Western sanctions and counter-measures by Russia have made it hard to do so. "Russian stocks do make up a very small proportion of some global indices," David Fairs, The Pensions Regulator's executive director of regulatory policy, analysis and...

March 15, 2022
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14Mar

US. A Guide To The State Pension Funds Divesting From Russia

As economic sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine spread, state and local public pension plans are looking at selling off their Russian-related assets and some are already doing so. Lawmakers in at least a dozen states are pressuring their pension funds to divest from Russian-related investments. Divestment isn’t likely to have much impact on the funds themselves as Russian-domiciled investments make up less than 1% of most (if not all) state portfolios. But collectively, it sends a message....

March 14, 2022
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14Mar

China markets in turmoil as Russia ties add to list of risks

Global investors are losing faith in China's ability to navigate an increasingly complex maze of challenges. The war in Ukraine raises the specter of harsh sanctions being applied to Chinese firms should they proceed with plans to acquire stakes in Russian energy and materials producers. The risk of Chinese companies being delisted from the U.S. is growing. A housing slump is worsening. Record commodities prices locally may stoke inflation, while the highest COVID-19 infections since the Wuhan outbreak will weigh...

March 14, 2022
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11Mar

US. Putin, Russian Pals “Mystery” Partners in Public Pension Deals?

America’s state and local government pensions invest as much as 40 percent of their assets in secretive, offshore “alternative” hedge, private equity, real estate and venture funds which warn that certain unidentified “mystery investors” pay lower fees, are provided greater information about investment strategies and portfolio holdings, have been granted liquidity preferences and receive superior net performance—all at the expense of America’s public sector workers. Read also US. Corporate pension buyouts record second-highest year in volume How many wealthy Russians are...

March 11, 2022
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09Mar

Russia. Putin signs law allowing government to quickly raise pensions – RIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing his government to quickly raise pensions, part of a set of anti-crisis measures after Russia was hit by a wave of economic sanctions over Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday. Read also UK. Pension Protection Fund pulls out of Russia Read also UK pension funding levels prove resilient in February despite the crisis in Ukraine Another new initiative signed into law by Putin gave individuals and small- and medium-sized businesses the...

March 9, 2022
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08Mar

U.K. pension regulator calls for vigilance over Russia risks

U.K. pension fund trustees should be "vigilant" about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions might affect them, The Pensions Regulator cautioned in a March 4 guidance. TPR recognized that some trustees and their advisers have already been reviewing their exposure risks, and set expectations for those reviews. "We expect you to be vigilant and talk to your advisers about any action which you may need to take, depending on your scheme's investment, risk management or employer covenant exposures,"...

March 8, 2022
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07Mar

IMF Sees ‘Severe Impact’ on Global Economy From War, Sanctions

The International Monetary Fund warned Russia’s war with Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed upon President Vladimir Putin’s country will have a “severe impact” on the global economy. “While the situation remains highly fluid and the outlook is subject to extraordinary uncertainty, the economic consequences are already very serious,” the Washington-based lender said in a statement on Saturday. Food and energy prices have surged in recent days and supply chains have frayed, adding to the inflationary pressures that policy makers were...

March 7, 2022
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More U.K., European investors move away from Russia
04Mar

More U.K., European investors move away from Russia

Asset owners and managers across the U.K. and Europe continued moving away from Russian investments following the invasion of Ukraine. The Swedish Pensions Agency on Monday placed an immediate ban on purchasing Russian funds. "We are stopping the possibility of buying the funds that focus most heavily on investments in Russia. This is done to protect pension savers," said Erik Fransson, head of fund management for the SPA, in a news release. SPA has 2.1 trillion (232 billion) Swedish kronor...

March 4, 2022
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