Letters From...
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FeaturesUS: state enrolment systems gain traction
There are signs that the US state-facilitated retirement savings plans are starting to have a positive impact on both the creation and uptake of private pension plans.
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Australia: volatility stirs valuations debate
As a disconnect in the valuation of listed and unlisted assets widens in today’s volatile markets, the torchlight is again being trained on Australia’s guardians of retirement savings.
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Australia: Caps, concessions and class war
The Australian Federal government recently moved to make a “modest” change to the nation’s superannuation system which, it says, will save A$2bn (€1.2bn) a year for its over-stretched budget.
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US: Politics drive ESG debate
Three Republican candidates for the White House are vocal advocates against pension funds adopting environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment practices.
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Australia: Super funds shift to fixed income
With fear of recession in Australia and globally, superannuation funds have gone into defensive mode. Cash and liquidity are two key considerations for CIOs, and some are waiting to take advantage of attractive market opportunities.
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US: Private equity losses weigh on pension funds
US public pension funds should brace for a big negative surprise when they prepare their reports for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2023. Only then will their returns reflect losses from 2022 in their private equity (PE) portfolios.
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US: Sponsors back pension buyouts
In 2022, pension risk transfer (PRT) deals in the US reached a record of over $50bn (€46.5bn), according to estimates. And many industry observers expect demand from plan sponsors for PRT solutions to remain strong in 2023.
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Australia: Super funds face the future of fossil fuels
After a year when fossil fuel stocks outperformed all other shares, Australian super funds face a conundrum – to buy, hold or sell?
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US: Republican House will not divert from SECURE 2.0
The new Republican majority in the US House of Representatives is not large enough to have a significant impact on the retirement industry.
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Australia: Supers face A$500m tax hit
In the lead-up to the first budget by a Labor government in 12 years, speculation was rife about what the new Australian government might have in store for the superannuation sector.
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Australia: Super funds shift focus to private credit
An ambition of the architects of Australia’s universal superannuation system, when it was set up in 1992, was to create what would become a fifth pillar of the nation’s banking system.
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US: Pension plans face up to a tough 2022
After the terrible returns of the fiscal year that ended in June, what will US public pension funds do? Will they increase their risky investments to try to reach their target returns? Or will they lower their target returns?
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Australia: Role for superannuation in nation-building
A new Labor government has set the scene for change in Australia’s growing superannuation industry to ensure that some of the country’s A$3.3trn (€2,3trn) savings pool is directed toward social housing and the energy transition.
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US: Transparency concerns over SEC private market disclosure rules
Will the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) new climate risk reporting rules bring more transparency to private markets? Or will they have the unintended consequences of increasing the opacity of the markets?
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Australia: Downturn casts a shadow over super anniversary
Australia’s superannuation industry enters its fourth decade under the darkening clouds of a global economic slowdown that is already having a dramatic impact on returns.
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US: The great unfreeze - does it make sense to reopen DB plans?
US defined benefit (DB) public and corporate pension funds are responding differently to inflationary pressures. Public schemes are more concerned about the negative impact of financial market turmoil on their returns, while corporates are enjoying the rising discount rates that are lowering their liabilities and improving their funded status.
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Australia: Superannuation funds on a consolidation path
Australians are beginning to get used to super funds with names like Australian Retirement Trust, Aware Super and Spirit Super.
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US: A cautious approach on private assets in DC plans
Will 2022 be the year when private equity is finally incorporated in US defined contribution (DC) plan line-ups? Possibly, following the Department of Labor’s (DoL’s) clarification of its position in a letter last December. But it will be a very slow process, according to industry experts.
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Australia: Political risk on the agenda for super funds
Australia’s cash-rich super funds allocate more to international equities than to their domestic counterparts. International equities are the largest single allocation.
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US: Fidelity’s retirement account crypto move raises concerns
Even six months ago it looked like crypto investing was not going to become mainstream any time soon in 401(k) plans – and since then Bitcoin has halved in value. But the market’s sentiment and trend are changing very quickly. So much so that Fidelity Investments has now become the first major retirement-plan provider to allow investors to add a Bitcoin account to their 401(k). The move was announced in late April.
