UK funds “profoundly” hurt by low interest rates

In his first major announcement as governor of the Bank of England, Canadian-born Mark Carney says ultra-low interest rates are here to stay. This couldn’t be worse news for pension funds, according to pension’s expert, Ros Altmann, but private-public collaboration on infrastructure could help ease the pain.   The prospect of another three years of … Read more

New way for Norway’s investments

The Norwegian government should establish a new fund, the Government Pension Fund – Growth, to invest in developing countries, resulting in the dual benefits of jobs creation and investment returns for the fund, recommends a report by Re-define, commissioned by Norwegian Church Aid. The NCA, which is a member of the humanitarian alliance, Act Alliance, … Read more

Rapid evolution for Spanish fund

Spain is a country of high geographic diversity where barren plains meet lush mountains and quiet old villages dot the landscape between vibrant, majestic cities. Fittingly perhaps, the country’s largest occupational pension investor Fonditel shines out as a highly sophisticated investor among an underdeveloped pension landscape. The €3.9-billion ($5.2-billion) fund – that mostly covers employees … Read more

Connecticut fund manager seeks cash flow

United States equities and real estate were the strongest suits at the $26-billion Hartford-based State of Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (CRPTF) out of an entire portfolio that posted 11.6 per cent in the fiscal year ending June 2013. Now the manager of Connecticut’s six retirement plans and nine trust funds is developing opportunistic … Read more

CalPERS: a new framework of economy

CalPERS has adopted 10 preliminary investment principles following a board offsite in July, but a number of topics, including the role of active management, are still under debate ahead of the September board meeting that is the deadline for the principles’ adoption. The $266-billion Californian fund began the process for establishing investment principles in January … Read more

Pension issues with Chinese characteristics

This policy memorandum from the Paulson Institute describes the current state of the Chinese pension system and offers some suggestions to address a range of issues. The author, veteran academic and policy wonk Robert Pozen, discusses the key challenges facing the Chinese pension system, examines the causes of each of these challenges and puts forward … Read more