The United Kingdom’s Co-operative Group, a chain of food, funeral and financial services outlets, markets itself on a popular loyalty scheme whereby customers earn points that are converted into a profit share, or dividend, directly linked to the group’s annual profits. It’s a founding philosophy that can trace its roots back a hundred years and
It’s hardly surprising that a pension fund for employees working for an organisation charged with reducing climate change and its consequences invests according to strict green criteria. Yet the investment strategy of the United Kingdom’s £2.1-billion ($3.29 billion) Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF) definitely has the capacity to surprise. The EAPF posted a total return
The pension and funds management industry is self-serving. There are too many players, there’s too much jargon, too much leakage and too much patting each other on the back. And that’s not just my opinion: the results of a 12-month research project, across 60 countries and more than 3000 investors concur. The research by State
The funded status of US defined-benefit corporate-pension plans continued to worsen last year, despite plan sponsors increasing contributions by $70 billion, a new Mercer study reveals. Mercer found funding levels have slipped to 2009 levels, with the outlook for 2012 likely to extend the bleak news for plan sponsors. The funded status of pension plans
Florida’s State Board of Administration (SBA) has appointed Mercer to conduct a broad-ranging review of staff compensation that was initiated and will be overseen by the organisation’s independent investment advisory council. As part of this review, the investment advisory council (IAC) passed a motion at its recent quarterly meeting to provide annual recommendations to trustees
Anyone who thought ESG was a passing fad can think again. The announcement this week that Mercer, which has led the consulting industry on standalone ESG ratings, will now integrate those factors across its ratings process has cemented ESG as an important investment risk and return consideration. The consultant rates more than 20,000 investment strategies
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