Articles by Jaishree Kalia
Multinationals move to global pension management
GLOBAL - The increasing visibility of retirement and benefit programmes at senior level within multinational companies has started a trend towards global oversight, said Mercer.
Union votes against Dutch pension proposals
NETHERLANDS - Members of the Dutch union FNV Bondgenoten have voted against government pension proposals which they claim would shift risk from the employer entirely to the employee, claiming they would lead to a "casino retirement".
Fitch affirms CalPERS "AAA" and CalSTRS "AA+"
US - Fitch Ratings has rated the credit enhancement programmes (CEP) offered by California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) "AAA" and "AA+", respectively.
Monday Movers
State Street Global Advisors; Texas TRS; Deloitte; F&C Investments; RCM; The National Association of Pension Funds
Government Fund returns 0.3% in Q2
NORWAY - The Government Pension Fund Global was up 0.3% in the second quarter after rising bond prices helped to offset drops in the global equities markets.
Brokerage firm defrauded school pension funds - SEC
US - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged a brokerage firm and its former executive with defrauding the pension funds of five Wisconsin school districts.
Super members told not to panic
AUSTRALIA - Mercer has urged superannuation fund members not to panic in the face of market volatility.
Master trusts return 20.12% to June
US - Master trusts returned 20.12% from July 2010 to June 2011, their best one-year performance since 1986, research by Wilshire shows.
CalPERS Board member elected to UN PRI advisory Board
US - The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) Board member Priya Sara Mathur has been elected on to the advisory council of the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
Pension plans fail to protect against eurozone crisis
UK - pension funds are failing to protect themselves adequately against the effects of a European debt and economic crisis, Cardano believes.
S&P 1500 scheme deficits rise $74bn in July
US - The aggregate deficit of S&P 1500 pension plans increased by $74bn in July, new figures from Mercer show.
Mercer appoints EMEA asset allocation head
Mercer has recruited Paul O'Connor as head of asset allocation for its investment management business in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Mercer appoints EMEA asset allocation head
UK - Mercer has recruited Paul O'Connor as head of asset allocation for its investment management business in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Hedging longevity - how the innovative trend is spreading
Jaishree Kalia reports that interest in hedging the longevity risk of active members could soar internationally following the news of the world's first such hedge being used in the UK
Aviva wins Philips real estate mandate
NETHERLANDS/UK - Philips Pensioenfonds has appointed Aviva Investors to manage its global multi-manager unlisted real estate portfolio in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific.
CalSTRS wins Homestore class action
US - The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) and other investors have been awarded a multi-million dollar securities fraud judgment against the former chief executive officer of Homestore.com.
Monday Movers
Syntrus Achmea; Texas Municipal Retirement System; SRL Global; BNP Paribas Investment Partners; ING Investment Management; Mercer; TAN-EU Capital; Pictet Asset Management
Japan fund returns 0.62%
JAPAN - The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) returned 0.62% in the third quarter of the fiscal year, down from 1.62% the previous quarter.
California told to move to hybrid plans
US - California and local governments should freeze pension payments for current workers and convert final salary schemes to a hybrid design, a new report concludes.
Northern Trust acquires Bank of Ireland admin division
IRELAND/US - Northern Trust is to acquire the administration services of the Bank of Ireland Group, Bank of Ireland Securities Services (BOISS) for €60m ($82.8m).
OCERS issues consultant RFPs
US - The Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a general investment and specialist consultants.
Target date funds leaving savers at risk
US - The lack of clear information on investment strategies used by target date funds could put retirees at risk, research warns.
HK$24bn pension payment misses savings opportunity - Mercer
HONG KONG - Government plans to provide an extra HK$24bn ($3.1bn) for Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) members may miss an important opportunity to stimulate retirement savings, Mercer believes.
BlackRock's Van den Heuvel joins ING IM
NETHERLANDS - André van den Heuvel, managing director for BlackRock's Benelux operations, is to join the Board of ING Investment Management (ING IM).
Administrator guilty of $1m fraud
US - A third party administrator has pleaded guilty to defrauding $1m from 12 pension plans after being investigated by the Department of Labor.
Investor confidence falls in February
GLOBAL - Investor confidence dropped to 91.6 in February, falling 9.2 points from January's revised reading of 100.8, State Street research shows.
APG wins PWrI management contract
NETHERLANDS - The Dutch pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds Werk en (re) Integratie (PWrI) has terminated its pensions management mandate with Syntrus Achmea and awarded it to APG with effect from 1 January 2012.
Former NAPF chairman Ellison joins SRL board
Former National Association of Pension Funds chairman Robin Ellison has joined the executive advisory board of investment data firm SRL Global.
Former NAPF chairman Ellison joins SRL board
UK - Former National Association of Pension Funds chairman Robin Ellison has joined the executive advisory board of investment data firm SRL Global.
NY fund returns 6% in Q3
US - The New York State Common Retirement Fund returned 6% in the third quarter of the fiscal year on the back of strong equity performance.
Fiduciary guru Van Nunen joins Dutch insurer
NETHERLANDS - Anton van Nunen, the man credited as being the father of fiduciary management, has been appointed as director of strategic pension management at the Dutch insurance group Syntrus Achmea.
JP Morgan wins City Super A$1.5bn mandate
AUSTRALIA - The superannuation fund City Super has awarded a A$1.5bn ($1.5bn) custodian and administration mandate to JP Morgan Treasury and Securities Services (TSS).
Australian growth funds return 1%
AUSTRALIA - The median growth superannuation fund gained 1% in January 2011, research by Chant West shows.
Global pension assets hit $31.1trn
GLOBAL - Global pension assets rose about 8% to $31.1trn in 2010, research shows.
EPF hits historic high
MALAYSIA - The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has reported its highest ever dividend payout of RM21.61bn ($7.1bn) for 2010.
Monday Movers
PennSERS; Henderson Global Investors; APG Asset Management; KPGM; State Street; PensionsFirst
Four Dutch funds to cut payments in 2012
NETHERLANDS - Four Dutch pension schemes will be cutting their payments next year if they continue failing to meet their recovery plans, said the Pension Federation.
AP3 returns 9% in 2010
SWEDEN - The Third Swedish National Pension Fund (AP3) recorded a net profit of SEK18.3bn ($2.9bn) in 2010, returning 9% for the year.
Administrators must improve to meet legislation requirements
IRELAND - Registered Administrators (RAs) must improve their record keeping if they are to avoid on-the-spot fines, the Pensions Board has warned.
AP1 reports double-digit returns for 2010
SWEDEN - Första AP-fonden (AP1) posted a net income of SEK20.5bn ($3.2bn) after expenses in 2010, returning 10.2% for the year.
Philips pension plan returns -3.5% in Q4
NETHERLANDS - The Philips pension fund returned -3.5% during the fourth quarter of 2010 due to rising interest rates.
Super funds look to post-retirement products to keep members
AUSTRALIA - Super funds are fighting to keep their members after retirement by developing post-retirement solutions, said Mercer.
AP2 returns 11% for 2010
SWEDEN - The Second AP fund returned 11.2% in 2010, a net result of SEK22.3bn ($3.4bn).
Investors shift back to equities
GLOBAL - European asset managers are expecting further slow downs in fixed income inflows, but are becoming more optimistic about Asian and European equities, reports show.
Monday Movers
OPERS; GESB; TRS; LCP; Friends Provident; Northern Trust; Mercer; PBGC
Dutch fund ordered to reduce gold holdings
NETHERLANDS - The Stichting Pensioenfonds Vereenigde Glasfabrieken (SPVG) has been told to reduce its holdings in gold after the Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) ruled its exposure to the metal was too risky.
GESB chairman Harvey to retire
AUSTRALIA - Government Employees Superannuation Board (GESB) chairman Phil Harvey is to step down next month after eight years at the fund.
AustralianSuper merges with Westscheme
AUSTRALIA - Australia's largest pension fund AustralianSuper has planned to merge with Westscheme to form a A$40bn ($40.2bn) fund with 1.7 million members.