June 2023
09Jun

U.S. public pension funds look to ramp up scenario modeling, stress-testing spending

The vast majority of U.S. public pension funds plan to increase spending on scenario modeling and stress testing in the next two years, according to a report from Rotterdam, Netherlands-based risk management consultant Ortec Finance. According to interviews conducted in February with 50 fund executives overseeing a total of $1.315 trillion in assets, 90% plan to increase spending on those items to help manage market volatility. "Many pension plans saw the value of their assets fall last year in what was...

June 9, 2023
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07Jun

US. DOL took thumb ‘off the scale’ in finalizing new ESG rule, official says

Despite mischaracterizations and political backlash, the Department of Labor's new rule permitting retirement plan fiduciaries to consider environmental, social and governance factors when selecting investments and exercising shareholder rights does not tip the balance in favor of ESG, a key department official said Tuesday. "The final rule that we put out, notwithstanding what you may have heard, doesn't require consideration of ESG, it doesn't mandate that every investment have an ESG score attached to it, it doesn't mandate that if...

June 7, 2023
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06Jun

Funding ratios for U.S. corporate pension plans increase in May

U.S. corporate pension plans saw their funding ratios increase in May thanks to falling liability values offsetting asset losses due to negative non-U.S. equity returns during the month, according to three new reports. Wilshire Advisors estimated the aggregate funding ratio of U.S. corporate plans increased 0.8% percentage points to land at 99.8% as of May 31. Liability values declined further than asset values after U.S. Treasury yields rose, primarily due to debt ceiling negotiations and continuing anticipation regarding the Federal Reserve,...

June 6, 2023
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02Jun

US. Senate passes debt ceiling agreement; bill heads to Biden

With only days before a projected U.S. default, the Senate in a 63-36 vote on Thursday passed a bill to suspend the debt ceiling, sending the measure to President Joe Biden for signature. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 will suspend the debt ceiling until January 2025 and cap federal spending for at least two years. The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday estimated the bill will cut the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. The measure was passed...

June 2, 2023
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01Jun

US. Closing the retirement savings gap: Employer offerings vs. workers’ needs

Employees working for larger companies may have several advantages when it comes to saving for retirement, as larger companies tend to provide more robust retirement benefit offerings than small companies. However, experts hope provisions of SECURE Act 2.0 will help level the playing field among companies of all sizes. According to a new study, Stepping into the Future: Employers, Workers, and the Multigenerational Workforce, by nonprofit Transamerica Institute and its Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, total household retirement savings is...

June 1, 2023
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May 2023
30May

Goldman Sachs’s China dealmaker stops tapping US investors

The head of Goldman Sachs’s private equity business in Asia has said she has stopped trying to raise money in the US because of geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing. Stephanie Hui, who runs the Asia-Pacific private and growth equity arm of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with investments that include deals in China, made the comments at a private equity conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday. “I’ve been asked to do observations of what we’re seeing in the marketplace . . . [one is] the...

May 30, 2023
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29May

More than half of U.S. women don’t feel financially secure: survey

More than half of U.S. women say they aren’t financially secure, a percentage that increases to 77 per cent among low-income women, according to a survey by Public Opinion Strategies and Lake Research Partners on behalf of the National Council on Aging and the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement. The survey, which polled more than 1,200 women aged 25 and older, found nearly half said they don’t have an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Among low-income women, three-quarters said they don’t...

May 29, 2023
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26May

Pension Reform: Conceptual Foundations and Practical Challenges

By Seamus Duffy & Oliver Giesecke Underfunded pension are the largest liability for state and local governments across the United States. As a result of increasing recognition of the associated risks, recent statutory funding mandates led to a sharp increases in required contributions, threatening city services and employee bases. As funding pressure mounts, pension reforms offer a viable tool for prudent economic policy. We propose five general principles that guide pension reform considerations and discuss how these principle stand in...

May 26, 2023
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24May

US. House passes bill requiring Treasury report on economic risks from China

The House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill that would require the Treasury Department, along with several federal regulators, to issue a report on risks posed to the U.S. by China's financial sector. In a 400-5 vote, the House passed the China Financial Threat Mitigation Act of 2023 Monday, introduced by Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Roger Williams, R-Texas. The bill directs the Treasury secretary — in consultation with the chairmen of the Federal Reserve, SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the...

May 24, 2023
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23May

US. Major pension funds are steering big dollars to infrastructure

Major U.S. pension funds are increasingly turning to infrastructure for its solid risk-adjusted return profile and strong performance resilience. Since 2011, Pensions & Investments has tracked more than 950 infrastructures hires totaling more than $134 billion committed, paced by 148 hires and $17.7 billion committed in 2021. Maine Public Employees Retirement System, Augusta, is also drawn to infrastructure due to its ability provide diversification from the plan's public and private equity and fixed-income assets, said William Proom, managing director of investments...

May 23, 2023
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