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Laws add to
de-risking push

Recent legal changes governing how US corporate pension plans calculate their funding liabilities could increase moves to de-risk pension plans, particularly through lump sum payments to participants, says Matt Herrmann a retirement risk expert at asset consultant Towers Watson. Herrmann, leader of Towers Watson’s retirement-risk-management group, says the legislative changes that passed through both houses […]
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Mercer lists priorities for Norway’s GPFG

A report finding Norway’s $582.7-billion sovereign wealth fund could face significant losses in a range of climate-change scenarios is unlikely to result in changes to the fund’s investment strategy, Norway’s state secretary Hilde Singsaas says. Norway’s Ministry of Finance released the report into the Government Pension Fund Global’s (GPFG) that it commissioned from Mercer and […]
Uncategorised posts

Mercer: think laterally on bonds

The angst in Europe has calmed down, relatively speaking, but according to Mercer, it will be a long haul, with deleveraging there and in the US taking many years. Investors need to act accordingly. Part of the problem is that conventionally safe assets, such as US Treasuries, are expensive. “That will take years to work […]
Uncategorised posts

How to tackle pay structures

The remuneration of pension fund investment executives is a sticking point in the industry. To compete with the open market, attract and retain a certain calibre of executive, and compensate them for the peculiarities of being a fiduciary, there is a certain minimum required. At the same time this has to be balanced with communication […]
Uncategorised posts

Credit to be the 2012 honeypot: Mercer

Investments in credit will be a hive of activity this year as the role of banks in lending continues to fall and investors make decisions about the place of sovereign debt in their portfolios, according to Mercer. The consultant, which has outlined economic and financial challenges for investors in 2012, says the scarcity of credit, […]
Sustainability

Climate change dwarfs euro crisis when seen from afar

Someone once told me the reason the Dalai Lama is always smiling, even when he’s talking about war, is that his view of the world, and all its troubles, is like a knowing father watching a child work through the wonderment and challenges of life. It is with this view that institutional investors must face […]
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