During the best of times and the worst of times, people will continue
to drink, smoke, gamble and fight. Here’s an assessment of the Vice
Fund portfolio, firsthand. Paula Vasan reports.
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.