Latest analysis – Page 21
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Opinion Pieces
Notes from the Nordics: Danish funds keen to invest in green project
Danish pension funds have been at the forefront of discussions on how to achieve the nation’s ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% from 1990 levels by 2030.
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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 US: Upcoming court ruling could create complications for DC plan sponsors
By the first half of this year, the United States Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision that could affect the defined-contribution (DC) industry. The case is Hughes vs Northwestern University, one of about 150 similar class-action lawsuits filed nationally in the past few years, alleging that plan fiduciaries breached their duty of prudence under ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
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FeaturesPerspective: La dolce pensione
Italy may be on the verge of overhauling its pension system, but there are signs the reform project lacks ambition
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Opinion PiecesNews Notes: PEPP cap elicits muted response
The date for authorisation for the so-called Pan-European personal pension product (PEPP) is fast approaching – 22 March 2022 – and yet the European pensions market seems to be relatively quiet about it.
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Opinion PiecesNotes from the Netherlands: It’s the implementation, stupid
The Dutch pensions regulator, DNB, praised pension funds in a recent report for having better structures in place to manage their exposure to climate risk than banks and insurance firms. But as always, the devil is in the detail.
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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 US: Liquidity tops the agenda for US pension plans
Monitoring and managing liquidity will be a major issue for many US pension funds in 2022. The risk of a liquidity crunch affects public systems above all, but corporate plans are not immune.
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FeaturesPerspective - Blended finance: the ultimate impact investment
Calls for a greater role for blended finance expose the challenges and opportunities of public-private collaboration
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Opinion PiecesNews Notes: Economies of cost saving
The three main reasons the UK government requested that the country’s 89 Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) pool their assets back in 2015 were: establishing common investment vehicles to provide the pension funds with a mechanism to access economies of scale; helping them to invest more efficiently in listed and alternative assets; and reducing investment costs.
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Opinion PiecesNotes from the Netherlands: Too eager to index
Most Dutch pensioners have been craving indexation ever since the financial crisis in 2008-09. Understandably, patience is running thin, especially now that inflation has reached its highest level since the introduction of the euro.
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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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Opinion PiecesLetter from US: Crypto currencies gain a toe-hold in America’s 401(k) retirement plans
Crypto investing is not going to become mainstream any time soon in 401(k) plans. But the US retirement market is becoming more and more sophisticated – investors are becoming interested in digital assets, and asset managers, platform providers and consultants are all developing digital products and services.
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FeaturesPerspective: Sweden reshapes national ethical stewardship
The Swedish buffer funds are taking stock as the long-standing secretary general of the Council on Ethics steps down
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FeaturesResearch: DB plans caught in a Catch 22
Pascal Blanqué and Amin Rajan argue that a toxic confluence of demographics, regulation and interest rates are undermining the finances of pension schemes
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AnalysisAnalysis: Nordic pension funds see soft landing for inflation, but remain wary
AP1 expects opportunities to arise, while Oslo PF chief has ‘never been so concerned’
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AnalysisAnalysis: Mixed response to draft TPR notification regulations
Proposed regulations introduce new employer-related notifiable events and bring forward timing
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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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Opinion PiecesLetter from US: University endowments setting the pace on fossil fuel divestment
US university and college endowments control more than $600bn (€517bn) of investments. Their policies often influence the behaviour of public pensions. So it is interesting to see whether Harvard’s recent decision to end its investments in fossil fuels will be followed not only by other universities but also by retirement systems.
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FeaturesPerspective: Songs strike a chord
A welter of recent private market deals and artists’ catalogue sales have moved music income strategies into the mainstream
