Letters From... – Page 3
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FeaturesLetter from Australia: Pooling for savings and strength
The government, the regulator and economic fallout from COVID-19 have combined to pressure Australia’s large and unwieldy pool of super funds towards consolidation.
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Features
Letter from US: Diversity in asset management rises
“It is a part of your fiduciary duty to invest the fund’s assets in a prudent manner. Investing with diverse asset managers that demonstrate outperformance and deliver strong returns is more than prudent, it is wise.”
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Features
Letter from Australia: Paltry pickings in the political pie
As deficits mount in a post-COVID-19 world, politicians and bureaucrats are again eyeing national pension savings – hundreds of billions of dollars they can capture at the stroke of a legislative pen.
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Features
Letter from US: Politics forcing divestment
American pension funds have become embroiled in the cold war between the US and China and diversification strategies may be affected by the new scrutiny of investments in Chinese companies.
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Features
Letter from US: Investors and savers hold steady in the face of the pandemic
During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, many investors stayed the course and did not make drastic changes to their asset allocations or to their saving rates. That is according to the first quarter 2020 retirement analysis by Fidelity Investments of more than 30m 401(k), Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and 403(b) retirement accounts in the US. Data updated to 17 April confirm the trends.
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Features
Letter from US: Short-term relief, long-term pain
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an immediate and transparent impact on American defined contribution plans. But it also has implications for defined benefit plans in the long run
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Features
Letter from US: The Democratic agenda takes shape
“On day one, [Joe] Biden will use the full authority of the executive branch to make progress and significantly reduce emissions. Biden recognises we must go further, faster and more aggressively than ever before, by (among other things) requiring public companies to disclose climate risks and the greenhouse gas emissions in their operations and supply chains.” That is Joe Biden’s ‘Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice’ as it appears on joebiden.com, the official campaign website.
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Features
Letter from the US: Lower rates, deeper holes
Something unprecendented happened in the US in the first weeks of January when the Milliman 100 PFI discount rate fell 35bps to a 20-year low of 2.85% “It was a very poor month for defined benefit (DB) plans, not a good start of the year and it dug an even deeper hole in their financial situation,” points out Zorast Wadia, principal, consulting actuary at Milliman. He is also author of the Milliman 100 pension funding index (PFI), an annual study of the 100 largest DB pension plans sponsored by US public companies.
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Features
Letter From US: New Secure Act – a step in the right direction
New rules encourage employers to offer annuities in 401(k)-type retirement plans
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Features
Letter From US: Concerns over common ownership unabated
No matter who wins the presidential election this November the issue of concentration of US corporate ownership by the Big Three money managers – BlackRock, Vanguard and SSGA – will not go away
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Analysis
Letter from the US: US pension funds braced for lower for longer
The last edition of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) twice-yearly Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) points to the risks that lower-for-longer yields pose, especially for pension funds.
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Analysis
Letter from the US: Industry debates private equity role in 401(k) plans
Should those who invest through 401(k) retirement plans have greater access to private equity?
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Analysis
Letter from The US: How boards can hurt pension plans
US state and local pension funds manage over $4trn (€3.6trn) in retirement assets for 20m active and retired plan members. But most of the funds are in bad financial shape.
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Analysis
Letter from Canada: Considering controversy
Pension funds have essentially one goal – invest and grow the fund for members. But what if money-making investments run afoul of environmental, social and governance practices?
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Analysis
Letter from the US: On a secure retirement path
The most significant changes to US retirement plans in more than a decade look set to be approved by Congress. On 23 May, the House of Representatives passed the Secure Act – Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement – by 417-3, and the Senate is also likely to approve it, with President Donald Trump unopposed.
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Analysis
Letter from the US: Practitioners defend ESG from executive threat
The proxy season was different in the US this time around. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) resolutions – as well as the use of those criteria for investing – are under scrutiny by the Trump administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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Analysis
Personalised TDFs on the rise
The newest trend in 401(k) plans is launching personalised versions of target-date funds (TDFs)
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Analysis
Brussels People: Europe’s conservatives eye Africa
Describing himself as “the most senior elected Brit in Brussels” and speaking ahead of 29 March when he and the UK’s 72 other MEPs were set to relinquish their mandate in the European Parliament, Syed Kamall is keen to speak about matters other than Europe.
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Analysis
Letter from the US: The $20bn club shifts strategy
The funded status of US corporate defined benefit (DB) plans is getting better, thanks to investment gains and higher corporate bond interest rates that decrease liabilities.
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Analysis
Firebrand targets supervision
One of the knottier issues in Brussels at the moment is the future of the European supervisory authorities
