All articles by Maria Teresa Cometto – Page 5
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Boomer balancing act
In the US, the oldest baby boomers recently turned 70. That is also a turning point for the US pensions industry. In fact, Americans at that age have to start withdrawing from tax-deferred savings plans, or face a penalty
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Opinion PiecesLetter from the US: Irresistible incentives?
Global pension funds are looking with interest at the $1trn (€960bn) Trump Private Sector Financing Plan for infrastructure construction. It could offer an opportunity for investors seeking stable, cash-generating investments.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Investors adjust to Trump
Are financial markets too optimistic about the impact of Donald Trump’s administration? That is a big unanswered question in the aftermath of his surprise victory in the presidential election
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: State boost to pensions
Next year will start with a new initiative in the US pension fund industry – the launch of the first retirement savings plan created by a state for private-sector employees. Washington State is the pioneer with its Small Business Retirement Savings Marketplace, and it will be followed by other states.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Endowment rethink
Should other university endowments follow the Yale model or is it time to rethink how they invest and take a simpler approach, such as an indexed 60/40 portfolio? That is the big question for NP ‘Narv’ Narvekar, who becomes the CEO of Harvard Management Company (HMC) in December.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Pension equities ebb
The defined benefit (DB) pension funds of the companies in the S&P 500 index are in deficit. At December 2015, these were $376.6bn (€337bn) underfunded, according to Citigroup’s chief US equity strategist Tobias Levkovich.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Pensions dreamland?
The two presidential candidates disagree on everything except on Social Security, the US federal programme that guarantees basic pension benefits
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: De-risking threatened
Corporate America is looking at the impact of the Pundt, Edward vs Verizon Communications case after the Supreme Court awarded victory to the retirees
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Country Report
Pensions In Italy: Saving the banking system
Italian pension funds are evaluating investment in Fondo Atlante, the banking sector rescue fund. But there are potentially more attractive alternatives, writes Maria Teresa Cometto
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: No clarity on hedgies
Not all pension funds are abandoning hedge funds. And the ones that are could be making the same mistake that investors often make – basing decisions on the past.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: The robo-race starts
Robo-advisers are gaining ground in the US retirement industry. Their success will have an impact on the market, accelerating the shift of assets out of actively managed funds and into index funds
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: The Yale effect
Good things come in small packages. It sounds so true reading the latest annual National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) Commonfund study of endowment performance.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: In search of balance
A woman leads one of the US pension funds most committed to long-terminism. She is Theresa J Whitmarsh, executive director of the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB), managing over $100bn (€89bn) of state pension, insurance, and other assets. She is also an advocate for a better gender balance in the financial industry, especially in the private equity sector.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Bad deal from IRAs
Americans are saving more in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), but this vehicle has the highest fees and the lowest returns, according to a new study by the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College. This means trouble for retirees.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: PE in the firing line
US public pension funds may play a role they would prefer to avoid in the 2016 presidential campaign as protagonists in the politically controversial private equity (PE) industry. Indeed, one of the reasons the Republican Mitt Romney lost the race to the White House was his connections to the sector.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Central States snag
A pensions bust-up is looming on the fringes of the 2016 Presidential campaign, involving the 115,500 retirees of the Central States Pension Fund (CSPF) who face a 28% average cut of their monthly pension. But the stakes are much larger. Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the Democratic presidential contenders, is championing the rights of those retirees. His attempt to stop the cuts with a new law could affect the whole pension industry.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Lower expectations
Most US state retirement systems are cutting their investment return predictions. But this is still not enough, according to critics, and a minority of public pension funds are retaining optimistic assumptions and aggressive strategies.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: From small beginnings
The US private retirement annuity market is quite small. But it is likely to grow dramatically thanks to the convergence of various factors
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: A new way of thinking
Three years ago car makers Ford and General Motors opened the way to a new means of de-risking defined-benefit (DB) pension plans. They offered a lump sum to participants who were receiving benefits
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Country Report
Politics: The land of perpetual reform
Maria Teresa Cometto looks at the recent changes to the Italian pension system and asks what has been achieved as politicians pander to popular opinion seeking to reverse key reforms
