How Did Your Country’s Pensions Fare in 2014?

Pension funds around the world saw asset growth stall in 2014, according to a global survey from consultancy Towers Watson.

Measured in dollar terms, the average growth of pension assets in the 16 countries surveyed by Towers Watson was 1.5%, compared with 8.3% in 2013.

Global pension assets grew 6.1% in 2014, totalling $36.1 trillion, of which 61% were US pension fund assets.

Pension asset growth in dollar terms 2014 The decline in the average asset growth rates is in part explained through currency movements, Towers Watson said. In 2014 all currencies relevant to the survey depreciated against the dollar: in dollar terms, Japan’s total assets declined 1.2%, but in local currency terms assets rose by 12.7%. The euro also depreciated against the dollar by more than 10%.

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Combined assets were equal to 84.4% of the combined GDP of these countries. In some of the biggest markets—the US, the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland—pension assets comfortably exceeded GDP.

In the seven largest pension markets (Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and the US) average allocation to bonds increased, while the amount held in cash and alternatives fell. Equity allocation remained static. However, since 1995 alternatives (including property) have increased from an average 5% of assets to 25% at the end of 2014.

Within the equity exposure, most pension funds are relying less on domestic equity exposure, Towers Watson found. In six of the seven biggest markets—with the exception of the US—domestic equity exposure was below 50% of total equity holdings at the end of 2014, and had been declining steadily for several years.

Asset allocation of seven biggest pension markets, end 2014

Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson has lost a bankruptcy and distressed securities specialist who replaced his right-hand man Paolo Pellegrini five years ago.

Dan Kamensky joined the $18 billion Paulson & Co. in 2009 and replaced Pellegrini, who left the firm in 2008 to start his own hedge fund.

“Dan Kamensky decided to leave [the firm] to pursue new opportunities,” Paulson & Co. said. “Dan contributed to successful distressed debt investments for the firm. We wish him the best in his new endeavors.”

According to Business Insider, Kamensky—a partner in the firm—was instrumental in executing some of Paulson & Co.’s most prominent bankruptcy investments, including Lehman Brothers and Residential Capital.

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News of Kamensky’s exit comes as Paulson posted its second-worst year in 2014.

Bloomberg reported both event-driven and credit funds—accounting for $7.8 billion of total assets—stumbled. Paulson’s flagship Advantage Plus fund fell 36% last year, sources told the news organization, while funds betting on company mergers barely broke even.

These bad bets placed Paulson & Co. among the bottom performing managers in 2014. According to Preqin, Arcstone Capital’s fund focusing on Indian equities performed the best last year, with a 225.21% return.

The data also showed three-quarters of the 20 top performing hedge funds used an equity strategy, followed by 10% employing relative value strategies.

Prior to his tenure at Paulson & Co., Kamensky served as senior vice president at Barclays Capital and at Lehman Brothers. He also holds a bachelor’s degree and a JD from Georgetown University.