Asia-Pacific: Pensions and Investment News and Analysis – Page 4
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FeaturesFixed income, rates & currency: disappearing safe havens
Risk markets have been having a torrid time of late. ‘Risk-free’ government bond markets are not providing any safe havens in these storms, with curves steepening and considerable volatility in longer rates.
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FeaturesYen’s swift dive surprises market
For several decades, the Japanese yen has not been in the limelight too often. However, earlier this year it became headline news as the currency began to depreciate rapidly against the US dollar. Although investors were not overly surprised that the yen would weaken, the speed of its decline was certainly startling. Over the course of about 15 months, between the start of 2021 to early April 2022, the yen has lost about 25% of its value against the dollar, with nearly half the move occurring in that final month.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: China treads a careful path
Since the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 the Chinese Communist Party has not put a foot wrong domestically. It has pursued economic growth alongside social cohesion, entrenching its prime objective of staying in power.
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Opinion PiecesAustralia: A new sense of unity over superannuation funds
Australia’s leading political parties appear to have called a truce over often-politicised issues in the superannuation sector in the lead-up to this May’s Federal election.
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Asset Class ReportsEmerging markets: Investors stay positive on Chinese investments
Many Western investors are staying put in China. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given them pause over what might change their stance
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Asset Class ReportsEmerging markets: Global or local?
For emerging market strategies, it is difficult to establish a clear link between performance and local presence
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Asset Class ReportsPortfolio strategy – Emerging markets
It is no secret that while investments in emerging markets promise to deliver superior returns, thanks to their exposure to faster-growing economies, actual performance has been volatile and, at times, disappointing. Over the past decade, emerging market indices have outperformed, as have fund strategies.
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FeaturesInvestors sceptical on Tokyo equity market reforms
In April, the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) implemented its biggest overhaul in over 60 years in an attempt to attract foreign investors. However, many industry experts see the move as largely symbolic and believe more needs to be done to create a roster of high-quality companies with strong corporate governance practices.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Trustee accountability in focus
Despite having billions of assets under management, Australia’s superannuation funds have share capital ranging from as little as A$12 (€7.9) to A$100 (€66.2).
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News
Pension funds in Nordics stick with China exposure but alert to risks
KLP’s Koch-Hagen says geopolitical shifts could make China a greater source of diversification - or else a riskier investment
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FeaturesJoseph Mariathasan: India’s NPS reaches $100bn in assets
India’s state-run voluntary defined contribution New Pension Scheme (NPS) has reached a milestone of $100bn (€88bn) in assets and is likely to double in size every five years, according to renowned economist Ajay Shah. There are many lessons to be learnt from the success of the NPS, particularly for developing countries seeking to create pension safety nets for their populations from scratch.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Global firms circle last bank-owned super fund
Several global firms, including private equity giant KKR and asset manager Vanguard, have thrown their hat in the ring to buy one of the last Australian bank-owned superannuation businesses.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Superfunds focus on retirement income
When you’ve spent as much time around superannuation as I have, you get to see a lot of eggs,” says senior corporate regulator Helen Rowell. “Images of eggs, usually in nests, often painted gold, frequently laying on a bed of $100 notes.”
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Private gain as Australia’s infra assets change hands
Australian superannuation funds are playing a key role in the largest takeover yet of an Australian infrastructure asset, Sydney Airport, for A$23.6bn (€15bn) in cash.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: In need of a broader asset pool
With a market cap of just A$2.7trn (€1.75tn), Australia’s ASX stock market is increasingly overshadowed by a rapidly growing pool of super savings which now exceed A$3trn.
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Book ReviewBooks: How a small island helped shape modern China’s world view
The Gate to China: A New History of the People’s Republic & Hong Kong by Michael Sheridan, HarperCollins, 2021
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FeaturesStrategically speaking: IFM Investors
When IFM Investors and its fellow consortium members cracked open the bubbly last month on their successful bid for Sydney Airport following a third revised offer, it marked a bet on a vigorous and sustained recovery in passenger aviation. After all, airports globally, including Sydney, had come to resemble “parking lots for planes”, in the words of IFM Investors CEO David Neal.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Super funds: shame in a name
Named and shamed! Thirteen Australian superannuation funds have been forced to inform their million-plus members that they have failed an inaugural superannuation performance test mandated by the financial regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
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News
European pension players turn to Asia to drive climate ‘breakthroughs’
Aviva, BMO, Fidelity, LAPFF, LGIM, and PGGM are founding members of new engagement platform
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Public places, private matters
AustralianSuper marked a milestone with its successful takeover in 2019 of education provider, Navitas, for A$2.1bn (€1.3bn).
