Leo Kolivakis's blog

The UK National Association of Pension Funds has called for an overhaul of accounting rules that govern the disclosure of company retirement liabilities, arguing that these are intellectually flawed and partly to blame for the widespread closure of schemes. The move is hugely significant, not only for the UK but around the globe. The UK led the big revolution in pension fund accounting over the past 10 years to value assets and liabilities of a scheme at a snapshot of current market values.

David Loglisci, who was Hevesi's chief investment officer at New York's state pension fund, has agreed to dish to investigators for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on a culture of corruption that existed in the office.

As companies quietly and gradually move their pension funds out of stocks, buying long-term bonds, public pension plans are seeking higher returns to make up for ground lost in the last couple of years and to pay all the benefits promised to present and future retirees. As they "double up to catch up", are they putting pensions at risk?

U.S. regulators are encouraging public pension funds that control more than $2 trillion to inject capital directly into the banking system by buying failed lenders, Bloomberg said, citing people briefed on the matter. Is this the next huge financial blunder? Sure looks that way...

Don't look now but pension black holes are set to explode everywhere and when they do, they will swallow growth for decades...

Surveys by U.S. staffing and payroll companies suggest businesses are cautiously rebuilding staff, especially in professional areas such as finance and accounting, information technology, and legal. Another poll finds increased optimism about small-business employers.

"The situation has the makings of an Aeschylean tragedy. If help isn't forthcoming, little Greece--whose economy is just 3 percent of Europe's GDP--could, against its will, set off a chain reaction that pulls down Portugal, Ireland, Spain, perhaps even Italy, and thereby throws Europe's, and then America's and the rest of the world's, fragile recoveries into reverse."

A leading champion for Canada's water supplies is chiding the investment managers and Ontario teachers for investing $1.1 billion in Chile's water systems...

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) announced a 10.6% rate of return for the year ending December 31, 2009, and won an award for Canadian pension fund of the year. Did it really merit this award?

While US workers are now working more hours and have become dramatically more productive and profitable, their pay is actually declining and all the dramatic increases in wealth are going straight into the pockets of the Economic Elite. The financial coup that begun in the US is now spreading across the world, threatening the fabric of our societies. How will this all end?

The Economic Cycle Research Institute's Weekly Leading Index stood at 128.4 for the week ended Feb. 19, the lowest reading since November 13, 2009, suggesting growth will slow by mid-year. What does this imply for pensions that are very exposed to private markets?

Quebec pension-fund manager La Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec generated a return from its investments of 10% in 2009, a sub-par number when compared to other Canadian pension funds but a dramatic turnaround from its catastrophic loss of $40 billion in 2008.

In his testimony on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke did not rule out the possibility that deflation risks could revive. Is he worried about what's going on in Japan right now? Or maybe he's worried about what Bob Prechter is calling the biggest bubble in history...

Chen Zhao of BCA Research says the intense debt-deflation pressure being felt in Europe has many similarities to the post-crash environment in Japan in the early 1990s. Deflation pressures are building all around the world but U.S. bond traders are still not convinced. Given the choice between the lesser of two evils, it's clear the Fed and other central bankers would rather err on the side of mild inflation. What will ultimately prevail?

Deutsche Bank AG is to assume the longevity risks of nearly 3 billion pounds ($4.6 billion) of pension liabilities from BMW’s U.K. plan. This is the largest deal yet in corporate longevity insurance, effectively doubling the size of the market. Will longevity swaps become the new age pension solution or will they offer a false sense of security?