UK government due to present long-awaited pensions legislation
Pensions bill to cover greater powers for regulator and frameworks for CDC provision and pension dashboards
Swiss corporate pensions slide into red for first time in two years
Coverage ratio down by 4% in third quarter, consultancy reports
Investors welcome new corporate green debt structure
APG and MP Pension positive on Enel’s general purpose bond with higher coupon on offer if environmental targets missed
Cash flows in Swiss pension fund market to turn negative in 2043 – report
Liquidity requirements could increase for some pension funds, according to Credit Suisse economists
Danish pension funds improve in latest WWF climate ranking
MP Pension score shoots up as WWF CEO says funds ‘have heard the planet’s distress call’
Use bond markets to challenge heavy emitters, says NBIM founder Kjaer
New bond issues like regular IPOs, provide an opportunity for scrutiny
Dutch minister decouples talks with funds about cuts from reform details
Intention set out in letter to parliament about roadmap for further elaboration of the pension agreement
LGPS Central launches £2bn multi-factor equity climate fund
The initial investment comes from two of the nine local authority pension funds in the asset pooling vehicle
PKA poaches top PFA director to succeed CEO Damgaard Jensen
PFA chief operating officer to quit at the end of the month before taking up the reins at PKA next year
ESG roundup: KLP toughens oil sands stance, dumping €53m of assets
Plus: Nobel Foundation runs listed equities portfolio through sustainability analysis, NEST produces responsible investment video for members
UK’s new ESG pension rules are just the first step: PLSA
Trustees need to work with their advisers to scrutinise asset managers’ offering, says PLSA
Digital Edition
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On the Record: Lower yields
After the ECB’s announcement of more QE, we asked two pension funds how they plan to manage the prospect of lower yields
How we run our money: ZVK
Gregor Asshoff (pictured), board member of ZVK, the pension fund for Germany’s construction workers, talks to Carlo Svaluto Moreolo about upcoming asset allocation shifts
Briefing: Draghi’s parting gift on ECB stance
If anyone in Europe was left in any doubt on 11 September about the dovishness of the European Central Bank (ECB) under Mario Draghi’s leadership, by close of business on the next day their doubts were surely dispelled. On that day the outgoing president of the ECB unleashed a bout of monetary easing, in an attempt to boost euro-zone inflation from 1% to its target of “below, but close to, 2% over the medium term”.
Briefing: US makes rapid turnaround
Father Christmas delivered a sack of coal to equity markets last Christmas Eve, with the S&P 500 index losing 1.8%, following a three-day slide. Forecasters had previously been expecting two or three rate hikes in December, as Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell steered that discussion. He had mistakenly assumed that the economy had not yet reached a normal, ...
Briefing: Deep tensions threaten EU vision
This is not a commentary on the UK within or without Europe. Brexit has been a compelling distraction but it is one macroeconomic strand in a complex world. The overwhelming coverage has also moved attention away from key internal tensions within the European project.
Pensions in a hostile climate
Outside the realm of US public pension plans, where generous return assumptions and inflated discount rates are common, the medium and long-term outlook for asset classes is of serious importance to most pension funds.
Storing up future pain
Anyone who back in 2008 had accurately predicted what monetary policy would look like today would certainly have been regarded as unhinged.
Small & mid-cap equities: Public or private markets?
Public markets are shrinking while private markets are attracting huge amounts of capital. But it is still not clear which is the better bet
Emerging market equities: ESG in Latin America
An anti-corruption drive by Latin American companies is creating opportunities for responsible investors
US equities: Past, present and future
Are US equity valuations in bubble territory?
Long-term matters: How capitalists can save the Amazon from capitalism
When foundations and wealthy individuals launched their Rapid Response-Able Fund (RRAF) in spring 2020, commentators sneered at the “save the world” motivation while others said it would distract attention from the political changes that were needed.
Guest viewpoint: Jennifer Choi & Brian Hoehn
“Principles 3.0 is intended to offer a road map to optimal partnerships in the private equity industry”
Guest viewpoint: Tracy Blackwell, Pension Insurance Corporation
The financial services industry is one of the least trusted in the UK. The Purpose of Finance project aims to address issues of trust and reform
Greenwish: wishful thinking in the ESG world
Every so often I come across a paper which I think is a ‘must read’ and Duncan Austin’s ‘Greenwish: the wishful thinking undermining the ambition of sustainable business’* is one.
Guest viewpoint: Adam Matthews and John Howchin
“The Brumadinho dam tragedy causes us to question if we have created the conditions for a set of disasters”
