Federal officials in the US, including Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, will receive letters from Congress in the next couple of days requesting documents about their knowledge of performance bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives just weeks before federal money was allocated to the bank’s merger with Bank of America.
As many corporate executives draw public criticism for their governance practices, institutional investors should exercise their power to influence who is appointed to the boards of companies they invest in, and who remains on them, the chairman of Australia’s A$59.6 billion Future Fund, David Murray, said.
The distress in the financial markets is offering Australian superannuation funds good opportunities to achieve a higher internal rate of return (IRR) on quality assets purchased directly.
Sam Magee, commercial director at Australian investment manager Industry Funds Management (IFM), told the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF) held in Australia this week, that there are now more opportunities to buy quality assets at a better price.
The two largest state public pension funds in the US – the California Public Employees’ Retirement Sysrtem (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) – have filed a joint motion with the US District Court, Southern District of New York, to be designated lead plaintiff in class actions against Bank of America stemming from its merger with Merrill Lynch.
Hermes Funds Management, 100 per cent owned by the UK’s largest pension scheme BT pension fund, will implement “responsible asset management” across its entire product range.
US consulting firm, Hammond Associates’ most recent alternative investments report, which highlights the fact there were very few places to hide in 2008, outlines the performance of the various asset classes and the outlook for the sector.