Money and Finance
- The Canadian Model: Invented In South Dakota?
Found via Abnormal Returns. It looks like the South Dakota Annual Report is also available HERE. What public pension system in the US of A is the best? Seriously, take a second and jot down the retirement system or investment council you think generates...
- Japanese Pension Fund Switches To Gold
Okayama Metal & Machinery has become the first Japanese pension fund to make public purchases of gold, in a sign of dwindling faith in paper currencies. Initially, the fund aims to keep about 1.5 per cent of its total assets of Y40bn ($500m) in bullion-backed...
- Pensions Find Riskier Funds Fail To Pay Off
Thanks to Phil for passing this along. Searching for higher returns to bridge looming shortfalls,public workers’ pension funds across the country are increasingly turning toriskier investments in private equity, real estate and hedge funds. But while...
- John Mauldin's Outside The Box: Game Changer - By Ed Easterling
Investors are confronting the reality of the current secular bear market. It is both the consequence of the previous secular bull market and the precursor to the next secular bull. The duration of the current secular bear period is uncertain. Should inflation...
- Public Pension Funds Are Adding Risk To Raise Returns
Does anyone think this is likely to end well? States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers' retirement. Companies are quietly and gradually moving their pension...
Money and Finance
CalPERS 1% Annual Return Adds to California Ills
With three California cities electing to file for bankruptcy in the past month, in large part due to underfunded pension obligations, the last thing California needs right now is more bad pension news. Which is unfortunate, because the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the nation’s biggest public pension fund, delivered a jolt of bad news this week when it reported a paltry 1% return on its investments in the fiscal year ended June 30.
“The last twelve months were a challenging period for all investors as the ongoing European debt crisis and slowing global economic growth increased market volatility and reduced equity returns,” said Joe Dear, CalPERS chief investment officer, in a statement “It’s a clear reminder that we must remain focused on performance, risk and internal controls in today’s financial environment.”
CalPERS’ 1 percent return is well below the fund’s discount rate of 7.5%, a long-term target that CalPERS lowered recently as it re-evaluated its economic assumptions in the current investing environment. Other pension plans have made similar adjustments recently. The rate is significant in that it determines the amount of money such funds need to invest now in order to meet future pension obligation needs.
- The Canadian Model: Invented In South Dakota?
Found via Abnormal Returns. It looks like the South Dakota Annual Report is also available HERE. What public pension system in the US of A is the best? Seriously, take a second and jot down the retirement system or investment council you think generates...
- Japanese Pension Fund Switches To Gold
Okayama Metal & Machinery has become the first Japanese pension fund to make public purchases of gold, in a sign of dwindling faith in paper currencies. Initially, the fund aims to keep about 1.5 per cent of its total assets of Y40bn ($500m) in bullion-backed...
- Pensions Find Riskier Funds Fail To Pay Off
Thanks to Phil for passing this along. Searching for higher returns to bridge looming shortfalls,public workers’ pension funds across the country are increasingly turning toriskier investments in private equity, real estate and hedge funds. But while...
- John Mauldin's Outside The Box: Game Changer - By Ed Easterling
Investors are confronting the reality of the current secular bear market. It is both the consequence of the previous secular bull market and the precursor to the next secular bull. The duration of the current secular bear period is uncertain. Should inflation...
- Public Pension Funds Are Adding Risk To Raise Returns
Does anyone think this is likely to end well? States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers' retirement. Companies are quietly and gradually moving their pension...