Towers Watson

Uncategorised posts

Tackling sustainability in emerging markets

Emerging market investing and sustainable investing easily rank as two of the most substantiated of the many investment trends of the past decade. However, the two styles of investing are far from natural bedfellows. Christian Ragnartz, as chief investment officer of the $17-billion-plus Swedish pension fund AP7 – which has 13 per cent of its […]

Dan BillinghamMarch 1, 2013

Investor Profile

Calming the waters of uncertainty at UK seafarers’ fund

The UK’s £3.3-billion ($5.6-billion) Merchant Navy Officers’ Pension Fund (MNOPF) is poised to offload the final portion of its defined-benefit liabilities in the old section of the scheme. The fund, which has provided pensions to the shipping industry since 1937, comprises a $3.2-billion new section and a $2-billion old section, closed since 1978 and with […]

Sarah RundellNovember 23, 2012

Uncategorised posts

Defensive setting, anaemic growth

Global pension funds continue to have a defensive asset allocation, reflected in the anaemic growth in the total assets of the world’s largest 300 pension funds by less than 2 per cent in 2011, new Towers Watson research reveals. The P&I/ Towers Watson Global 300 research reveals that concerns about ongoing uncertainty in global markets […]

SAM RILEYSeptember 5, 2012

Uncategorised posts

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 […]

SAM RILEYJuly 6, 2012

Uncategorised posts

Project Telos: a map to sustainable investing

The complexity of sustainable investing could be a step too far for many asset owners with current governance not up to the complexity of embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into decision-making, according to head of Towers Watson Roger Urwin. The comments come as the global asset consultant is set to release the results […]

SAM RILEYJune 13, 2012

Uncategorised posts

Why Global Investment Matters

The recent rally on global markets does not mean that the risk environment has abated Towers Watson’s global head of investment Carl Hess has warned. Speaking from New York prior to the launch of the consultant’s report Global Investment Matters, Hess says that while the risk of the imminent collapse of financial markets has lessened, […]

SAM RILEYApril 4, 2012