April 2020

08Apr

Why Switzerland is struggling to guarantee pensions for the next generation

The Swiss pension system is complex, and is based on three so-called pillars: old-age and survivors’ insurance (known as the AVS), occupational pension planning (often referred to as LPP) and private saving for old age encouraged through tax breaks. This set-up enables risk-sharing and, although “unfortunately not perfect”, could be “a model for other States”, says Thomas Gächter, professor of social insurance law at Zurich University. Read also UK. Wakefield man who failed to claim pension gets...

April 8, 2020
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March 2020

17Mar

In Nagoya, scramble for hospital beds shows coronavirus challenge for aging Japan

Hospitals in Nagoya city in Japan's industrial heartland have more coronavirus patients than they can treat, forcing transfers to nearby areas and offering a glimpse of the challenges the outbreak poses for a country with a huge elderly population. Japan has closed schools and canceled public events, which experts say has helped prevent an explosive spread of the virus. But because testing hasn't been widespread, some medical experts say the extent of infection is understated, and a surge could...

March 17, 2020
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13Mar

Japan’s GPIF, World’s Largest Pension Fund, Joins U.S., U.K. Funds to Adopt Sustainability Practices

Pension funds representing about $2 trillion in assets under management are committing to sustainability investing The move brings some of the world’s largest asset owners into the ESG movement, joining fund managers, companies and governments Pension funds’ ESG commitment highlights focus on the long term even during the current market meltdown due to coronavirus Three of the world’s largest pension funds are taking a $2 trillion stand in favor of sustainability investing. Read also Climate risk body launches...

March 13, 2020
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10Mar

Norway’s Pension Giant Calls for Improved ESG Metrics

Norway’s $1.07 trillion Government Pension Fund Global, which owns stakes in more than 9,200 companies and owns 1.5% of all listed stocks, is pressing the companies it invests in to provide more tangible data regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. The fund said it’s no longer enough to hear promises of responsible investing, and that it’s time for companies to start providing hard data to show they’re being true to their word. “In recent years, we have...

March 10, 2020
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09Mar

Stock Markets Plunge Across the World as Coronavirus Sparks Oil Price War

Global stock markets, already reeling from intense panic over the spread of the novel coronavirus, plunged on Monday as oil prices nose-dived by more than 30 percent—the biggest daily drop since the Gulf War in 1991—after Saudi Arabia shocked the world by launching a price war against Russia. The drop comes as the number of confirmed cases of the virus reached nearly 110,000 worldwide. Read also PPI Coverage: Coronavirus’s effects on pensions Economists in the United States and Europe are now bracing for what...

March 9, 2020
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06Mar

UK. PLSA Calls for Pensions to Hold Companies Accountable for Climate Change

In its updated annual stewardship and voting guide, the UK’s Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), whose members are responsible for approximately £1 trillion ($1.28 trillion) in pension assets, said plan investors need to hold the directors of the companies they invest in accountable for the way they manage climate change risks. The guidelines are intended to be a resource to provide pension trustees with practical guidance when considering how to exercise their votes at annual general meetings. The...

March 6, 2020
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February 2020

28Feb

Nigeria. Investing pension funds: Worries, prospects by stakeholders

Just before the federal government decided to step down borrowing from the dormant pension fund, reactions ranging from worries to expectations continued to trail the plan by government to utilise N2 trillion of the current N10 trillion available pension fund in developing infrastructure through the creation of products that Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) would be attracted to invest in. The government’s plan is aimed at improving infrastructure such as railway, road, electricity, among others, while also creating areas of opportunities...

February 28, 2020
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27Feb

JP Morgan Chase Commits $200 Billion to Sustainability Financing

JPMorgan Chase said Tuesday that it’s committing $200 billion in financing this year to expand its sustainability goals, which include imposing restrictions on lending to coal mining companies and ending direct funding of Arctic drilling projects. The bank said it will no longer lend to capital markets or give advisory services to companies that get a majority of their revenues from coal extraction. By 2024, the bank said it will phase out its remaining credit exposure to those businesses....

February 27, 2020
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January 2020

24Jan

Achieving Investment Excellence: A Practical Guide for Trustees of Pension Funds, Endowments and Foundations

By Kees Koedijk, Alfred Slager, Jaap van Dam Achieving Investment Excellence offers trustees and asset managers a comprehensive handbook for improving the quality of their investments. With a stated goal of substantially and sustainably improving annual returns, this book clarifies and demystifies important concepts surrounding trustee duties and responsibilities, investment strategies, analysis, evaluation and much more. Low interest rates are making the high cost of future pension payouts fraught with tension, even as the time and knowledge required to...

January 24, 2020
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07Jan

Beyond green ambitions

By Liam Kennedy Europe has lofty ambitions as it positions the European Green Deal as Europe’s growth plan for the coming decade and beyond. There is much to do to promote sustainability in Europe and the EU can undoubtedly blaze a trail. But the incoming Commission will also need to maintain its focus on the Capital Markets Union (CMU), the flagship economic policy of the previous Commission. One element of the CMU as announced in 2014 was indeed to foster...

January 7, 2020
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