Pension Funds - Articles & White Papers

In an ever-shifting economic landscape, trade finance stands out as a resilient choice for investors. It seeks to provide stability and exhibits a low correlation with the often-unpredictable fluctuations of public markets. Moreover, it can offer complexity premium that can enhance portfolio performance over the long term.…

This year’s GRI takes a deep dive into the critical issues driving global retirement security – and reveals the top countries for retirement security around the world.

In its 22nd edition, How America Saves provides an in-depth examination of the retirement plan data of nearly 5 million defined contribution plan participants.

This white paper is the fourth in a five-paper series. It introduces a radical new perspective on equities, thinking of them as one would of any high-end consumer good. This change in perspective enables us to demonstrate that income inequality is a hidden driver of equity prices, and also allows us to…

A Vanguard analysis assesses retirement readiness for a nationally representative sample of American workers.

The global top 300 pension funds is an annual study conducted by the Thinking Ahead Institute. AUM of the top 300 pension funds total US$20.6 trillion, having reduced by 12.9% in 2022, down from 8.9% growth the previous year. High inflation and higher interest rates disrupted equity and bond markets worldwide piling the…

In this report we analyse recent trends in mortality and how they affect defined benefit pension schemes. We take a look at what might happen in the future, illustrate some examples of how we have helped other pension schemes to get under the skin of what is driving recent experience and how it might influence your scheme,…

September 2022 caused a fundamental shift in the UK defined benefit (DB) pension market, as well as the demand dynamics for certain asset classes. European insurers are one of the few large institutional asset owners who are able to take advantage of these changes with opportunities presenting themselves across the balance…

In early March, a number of Amundi’s experts gathered in Paris to present their views to clients on some of the current concerns facing pension funds. Moments after they spoke about the multiple challenges of inflation, of geopolitical instability and of the impact the climate crisis will have on investment returns, shares…

This paper compares the performance of cost averaging with lump-sum investing as strategies for investing cash.

The Global Pension Assets Study estimates global pension fund assets across 22 major pension markets (the P22). These geographies now total a record US$56.6 trillion in pension assets and account for 76% of the GDP of these economies. The study, conducted by WTW and the Thinking Ahead Institute since the 1990s, includes an…

Institutional portfolios such as corporate pension plans are increasing allocations to illiquid private assets seeking better returns and diversification. However, as allocations increase, a portfolio’s liquidity structure changes, sometimes abruptly. How can a CIO increase their confidence with private asset allocations and…

In a world of low return expectations and even lower interest rates, pension plans are re-evaluating their portfolios, looking for alternative ways to achieve return targets and improve funded status. Diversifying portfolios with real assets helps address these challenges. Real assets may reduce portfolio volatility, enhance…

Corporate plan ROAs leveled off in 2022. We believe they may stay level or even increase in 2023 annual pension footnotes, reflecting the higher yields and lower asset valuations we saw going into the year.

The Asset Owner 100 is a Thinking Ahead Institute study which gathers data on the total assets of the top 100 asset owners around the world. Though not included in the ranking, the study also presents the total assets for the top 10 insurers and the top 10 foundations and endowments.

CEM Benchmarking’s 2023 study (PDF), sponsored by Nareit, provides a comprehensive look at realized investment performance across asset classes over a 24-year period (1998–2021) using a unique dataset covering more than 200 public and private sector pensions with nearly $4.4 trillion in combined assets under management.…

A lesson from life: Is buy-out the only option for UK DB pension schemes? Many of the UK’s defined pension schemes have seen a rapid turnaround in their fortunes and are enjoying their strongest funding position in years. This has prompted sponsors to pursue buy-outs with life insurers. But as this report argues, a more…

See the latest insights from experts at Legal & General Investment Management.

Integrating the needs of plan participants into any major change to a retirement plan is paramount to ensuring consistent and lasting engagement. Read more at Nuveen.