U.S. ranked 15th in pension excellence: Mercer
Both the Dutch and Danish systems were highlighted as “first class” in the seventh edition of the survey, while Sweden rose from sixth place to tie for fifth with...
International
Vanguard and T. Rowe Price launch international funds
New low-cost Vanguard index funds look for dividend-paying stocks overseas, while an actively-managed T. Rowe Price fund searches for undervalued financial, telecommunications and consumer discretionary stocks in emerging markets.
The Future and How to Survive It
McKinsey Global Institute's analysis of thousands of companies around the world shows that top performers invest in intellectual assets, play in fast-growing markets, and have the most efficient operations.
Pensions should fear longevity gains more than low rates: Fitch
The ratings agency said expected increases in interest rates and longevity could offset each other, with its impact on funding depending on the timing of the change, the discount...
AXA’s UK pension fund uses longevity swap
Insurers will be subject to additional capital requirements when Solvency II kicks in later this year, requiring companies to shore up longevity within their books and their own pension...
Britain’s Exchequer Mulls an End to Tax Deferred Savings
Retirement industry watchers in the U.S. should watch what's happening in the U.K. It's a living experiment in pension and tax reform, and it could offer important lessons about...
Offshore AUM to exceed US AUM by 2019: Cerulli
Global AUM is expected reach US$106 trillion by 2019, but “managers need to be realistic about the efforts required to win business in high-growth markets,” said a Cerulli release...
A three-bucket blueprint for de-accumulation, from the U.K.
Britain's public-option defined contribution plan, NEST, thinks that a decumulation strategy that used tax-deferred savings to fund a small cash bucket, a big income-generating bucket and a longevity annuity...
England Swings (Away from Annuities)
Until April 6, most Britons bought annuities with their DC savings. Now they can do as they wish with those ‘pension pots.’ BlackRock and AllianceBernstein see opportunity. ...
Dutch gov’t to drop forced DC annuitization—but not this year
The Dutch Parliament and the pensions industry urged the state secretary to introduce legislation soon, because low interest rates are leading to low pension incomes for retiring workers as...
Quantitative easing in Europe entices equity investors: TrimTabs
“U.S. investors continue to follow the printing presses into European and Japanese equities,” said David Santschi, TrimTabs CEO.
Britain invaded! By robo-advice!
'The low-margin business of fund distribution is being standardized, innovative digital propositions are flourishing, and layers of distribution are being removed' in the U.K., according to a new report...
As UK’s annuity mandate ends, NEST weighs alternatives
The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), Britain's public workplace retirement plan option, believes that despite the end of forced annuitization, middle-class retirees will still need a default mechanism for...
In Denmark, interests of retirees and urban renters collide
A new law requiring 25% of construction land in Denmark to be used for “social housing” could hurt the value of real estate investments by pension funds and disrupt...
Rising sales of “medically underwritten” group annuities reported in UK
Four UK insurers offer medically underwritten group (“bulk”) annuities: Aviva, Just Retirement, Legal & General, and Partnership, with Partnership and Just Retirement doing the majority of business.
U.K. life insurers to suffer as forced annuitization ends
The major life insurers are expected to be profitable, according to Thomson Reuters data, but profits at Aviva, Friends Life and Legal & General are expected to be flat...
German DC plans may ‘go Dutch’
With companies trying to molt their pension obligations, Germany is thinking about allowing whole industries to set up collecitvely-managed, Dutch-style defined contribution plans, but with guarantees backed by a...
End of forced annuitization creates product vacuum in UK
While some in the U.S. try to put annuities into defined contribution plans, Britain is slowly adapting to the removal of forced annuitization from its DC rules.
Towers Watson cuts out middleman in longevity risk transfer deals
Towers Watson’s service, Longevity Direct, will give pension funds access to a “ready made insurance cell,” which it said could write insurance and reinsurance contracts for longevity swap transactions.
Hungarians protest end of state-sponsored DC plan
Despite a protest march in Budapest, the government has threatened to shut down the last four funds in the “second-pillar” system unless they can prove that at least 70%...
