A study shows that even though pension assets in Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries remain below
December 2007 levels, some countries. such as Hungary and Norway, have
already recuperated completely from 2008 losses.
A new study by consulting firm Mercer shows US pension deficits have reached a record high, revealing a downturn in pension health that erases gains achieved since January 2009.
Allocations to alternative assets -- specifically to commodities and
infrastructure -- have continued to rise and now account for 17% of all
pension fund assets globally, up from 6% ten years ago, Towers Watson
research reveals.
A report analyzing the market's reactions to investments by
sovereign wealth funds, with approximately $3 trillion in assets in 2008
and a projected $15 trillion by 2015, finds that wealth fund injections
in the US have unintended consequences.
The second largest public pension fund in the US has
acquired $216 million worth of property in Q1, further indication that
the real estate market is slowly recovering following the global
economic crisis.
Patric de Gentile-Williams, chief operating officer of hedge fund
seeding specialist FRM, says he’s seeing the most sophisticated
investors backing up start-up or small hedge funds again.
In Japan, the
DIC pension plan is looking to diversify into real estate, while the
GPIF is indicating a move to make the fund more transparent to the
public.
