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Newsmakers

Brazilian Planning Minister Demands Government Put Pension Reform First

Corruption scandal, 2018 general elections causing distractions for lawmakers.

By Chris Butera

According to Brazil Planning Minister Dyogo Oliviera, the government needs to focus on changing laws for its ailing pension in Congress instead of on a tax reform that is not gaining the political backing lawmakers had hoped for.

“There are no conditions to push two reforms of this magnitude through Congress at the same time,” he told journalists following a Sao Paulo event on Monday. “The first reform that we need is the pension reform.”

Brazil’s government has had a troubled time trying to agree on a solution to the country’s pension system due to the upcoming 2018 general elections and an ongoing corruption scandal involving current President Michel Temer and two former presidents, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula), and his successor, Dilma Rousseff, distracting lawmakers.

While economists agree that pension reform is essential to dodging an eventual public debt crisis, unions are against proposals, calling for a minimum retirement age as well as benefit reductions.

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In addition, the government has yet to present its tax proposal—a priority of President Temer. A separate bill presented by Congressman Luiz Carlos Hauly, which looks to simplify the country’s tax system, has been analyzed by legislators.

According to Oliviera, the government has asked BNDES—the world’s third-largest state development bank—to return $50 billion reais ($16.2 billion) to the Treasury this year as well as 130 billion reais in 2018. Oliviera also noted that BNDES will have to change its business model to depend on market resources rather than government funds.

The minister also mentioned how, after approving a looser budget target in Congress, the government was attempting to unfreeze between 8 billion and 10 billion reais in public spending later this month, saying the approximate number had yet to be confirmed. He also said Brazil will face a slow recovery from a large recession and that it will probably take 10 to 12 years to return to 2014 numbers.

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Home > News > Research > MIT Endowment Soars to $14.8 Billion in Fiscal 2017
Research

MIT Endowment Soars to $14.8 Billion in Fiscal 2017

Fund up 12.5% from previous year.

By Chris Butera

It was a healthy year for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) endowment, which returned 14.3% in the fiscal year ended June 30, growing the fund to $14.8 billion, excluding pledges.

According to a report from MIT’s treasurer, the endowment fund was up 12.5% compared to the previous year, which totaled $13.2 billion. In the previous fiscal year, the endowment returned 0.8%. The endowment fund is the largest component of MIT’s total investments.

Long-term benchmarks and returns were not provided.

As of June 30, the MIT Investment Management Company (MITIMCo), which oversees the investment of the institution’s endowment, retirement, and operating funds, had $23.3 billion of assets under management. MIT has the sixth-largest endowment of any school in the US.

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“We begin fiscal 2018 with the financial strength to enable MIT’s core mission, the flexibility to pursue strategic initiatives, and the resiliency to respond to economic uncertainty amid pressure on federal research funding and volatile global events,” Israel Ruiz, executive vice president and treasurer, said in the treasurer’s report. “The Institute’s ability to successfully steward MIT’s future will be further strengthened by the Campaign for a Better World.”

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