Financing Sustainable Development in an Emerging Economy

The purpose of this chapter is to review the Turkish private pension system as a key determinant of sustainable development of the country. The private pension system is of great significance in order to promote sustainable development. This is attributable to the fact that high level of total savings which are secured through individual savings are conducive to investments and in turn finances sustainable development and growth. Turkey, as an emerging economy, is considered to be one of those economies with low level of total savings. In an effort to deal with this issue, governments paid attention to an increasing level of savings of households. Individual retirement system (private pension system) is devised so as to increase savings and to fund investments with national sources. Therefore, it is safely argued that the very rationale behind the introduction of private pension system is associated directly with the aim of increasing total savings in the economy and ensuring sustainable development.

Comparing the Performance and Management Style of Retirement Pension Funds before and after the Private Pension Activation Plan

We analyzed and compared the performance and management style of retirement pension funds before and after the private pension activation plan (PPAP). First, we found that retirement-pension funds showed better performance than public funds before the PPAP. However, after the PPAP, the retirement-pension market size increased and the difference in performance disappeared. Second, we found that the difference between top and bottom performance group in the retirement pension fund becomes more significant after the PPAP. Third, we found that various investment strategies such as small-medium size stock investment and sector investment are offered in the retirement-pension fund only to result in the inferior performance. Finally, when we compared the management style, the retirement-pension funds showed a smaller value factor compared to public funds for the period after the PPAP. Therefore, we argue that the fund selection has become a more significant factor in determining the retirement fund performance after the PPAP. However, considering that the average retirement-pension holders’ financial knowledge is rather low, the expansion of fund choices may adversely affect the pension holder’s performance. Therefore, a retirement-pension provider’s role as fund selection authority has become more critical, and it is necessary to establish an institutional device that can manage, supervise, and monitor their activities.

A Lavagem de Dinheiro e o Financiamento do Terrorismo no Mercado de Seguros, Capitalização e Previdência Privada Aberta

This article focus on the emergence of the criminalization of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as well as the conventions and bodies that promote the prevention of these crimes. It also approaches how the current transnational crime – and evolution of how they are commited – as well as the need for fast and constant legislative adaptation and the creation of specialized bodies to combat these crimes. It further discusses the recent interest of criminals in the insurance, capitalization and open private pension market, and thus, it analyzes SUSEP;s Circular nº 612/2020. The methodology used was historical research, addressing the evolution of conventions and legislation on the subject. The objective is to answer the following questions: How did the laws evolve so that they adapt and effectively prevent crime? Which international and national bodies are responsible for this prevention? How do terrorists operate in the insurance market, and what does the program to prevent money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism have in place? It is concludes that the union of countries is essential for the fight against terrorism, as well as the evolution of legislation on the subject, in order to cover all phases of the process, including the raising of resources. We can also conclude that Circular SUSEP nº 612/2020 is in line with the policies on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing, as it is aligned with the risk-based approach model.

Private pension funds: pragmatics and problems of activity in Ukraine

Introduction. Nowadays, the pension system in Ukraine is being transformed, which necessitates analytical research on the activities of private pension funds, namely, open-ended, identifying problems of their activities and finding ways for further effective development.Methods. In the article author uses methods of analysis and synthesis, graphic research methods, economic and statistical methods for information collection and processing, in particular, sample surveys, groupings, statistical comparisons, trend analysis - in the process of evaluating the activities of private pension funds in Ukraine, and the method of logical generalization in formulating conclusions.Results. Author did an analytical assessment of indicators that characterize both the quantitative side of the activities of private pension funds in Ukraine and the qualitative side of their effectiveness in the domestic financial market. Attention is focused on the peculiarities of the structure of the portfolio of open non-state pension funds and it is concluded that the biggest quote (about 95%) in it belongs to cash on bank deposits and government securities. Author analyzed the indicators of profitability of the five most profitable open pension funds of Ukraine (according to the results of 2020) and their comparative characteristics, both in terms of the level of profitability and with the inflation rate. The tendency to decrease the profitability of investment portfolios during the analyzed period is noted. It was found that the structure of the portfolio of the most profitable open private pension funds is practically the same as the general structure of all pension funds of Ukraine. Discussion. Author proposed to form the portfolio structure of a private pension fund based on the characteristics of its depositors, and for the part of the portfolio with the largest investment horizon include risky instruments: direct investment funds, venture funds and real estate funds. This will allow using part of the pension savings as a long-term investment resource for the modernization of the domestic economy.Prospects for further research necessitate consideration of the main methods used in the process of selecting an asset management company, the administrator of a private pension fund, and assess the effectiveness of its asset management of private pension funds.

Financial Literacy Self-Evaluation of Young People in Latvia

Regular and proportionate voluntary savings in private pension funds can become an important part of oldage pensions. However, this can happen if the savings are made for a long period of time. This justifies the target group of the 3rd pension level, which are young people who have started to receive a regular income from their professional activity. One of the most discussed issues in promoting voluntary pension savings is the level of financial literacy. In addition to other motivating factors, such as financial incentives, the level of knowledge of the population about the opportunities to participate in the third pillar of pensions makes them want to build up voluntary savings. Effective communication of information to a precise target audience is one of the main tasks of government agencies in formulating pension policy. In order to assess the impact of various socio-economic factors on young people's knowledge of savings for pension formation, a survey of Latvian youth was conducted in February-March 2021, addressing youth organizations and universities. The survey is designed using closed and semi-closed questions, in several questions respondents were asked to provide ratings using the Likert scale. The survey provides answers to the question about the level of knowledge of Latvian youth about the current pension system, emphasizing the investor's right to handle investments in private pension funds, as well as the basic conditions for creating savings at the 2nd and 3rd pension levels. The task of the study was to analyze the respondents' financial literacy self-evaluation answers based on the main socio-economic factors - gender, age and income. The results of the study confirm that the level of financial literacy of young people differs according to age, gender and income level.

The impact of alternative assets on the performance of Brazilian private pension funds

ABSTRACT This article assesses the impact of alternative assets on the performance of Brazilian private pension funds. Few studies touch on this topic in Brazil and most only investigate the addition of alternative assets and their impact on the performance. The market of open private pension funds in Brazil has been growing rapidly in recent years and gaining much relevance, especially after the announcement of the reformulation of the Brazilian pension system. In 2018, the Free Benefit Generating Plan (PGBL) and the Free Benefit Generating Life (VGBL) represented more than 94% of total assets in their sector. The Brazilian specially constituted investment funds (FIEs) of PGBL and VGBL private pension plans are characterized by their dependence on fixed income assets. Brazil currently faces an unprecedent low interest rate scenario - which, following a worldwide panorama, seems to be set for a long time - and pension fund managers must search for alternative investments that aggregate both risk premia and diversification. The results of this study may support managers in this little-discussed matter. We compare the performance of FIEs without additional alternative assets versus the portfolio with alternative assets, adding a hedge fund index, an equity mutual funds index, a commodity index, an electric power index, a public utilities index, a gold index, and a real estate index. Several performance measures were used, considering Brazilian regulations and a rebalancing strategy. Our results showed that almost all alternative assets used in this study improved the performance of the Brazilian FIEs of PGBL and VGBL private pension plans, especially the public utilities index and the hedge fund index. Some even improved the portfolio tail risk.

Problems of financial and legal regulation of private pension funds’ activity

The problem of lack of interest of the population to participate in the formation of pension savings is one of the key problems of private pension funds. Accounting and registration of various rights, licensing and accreditation of institutions, establishment of norms, quotas and other restrictions, control and supervision, as well as the application of material sanctions and measures of administrative coercion are state regulation of private pension provision. The National Securities and Stock Market Commission, the National Bank of Ukraine, and the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine exercise state supervision and control over the activities of non-state pension funds. The current distribution of powers to oversee the activities of private pension funds between regulators is not effective enough. State intervention in the field of private pension funds should be timely, appropriate and limited. The need to invest heavily in setting up an administrator and an asset management company significantly reduces the attractiveness of private pension provision for potential investors, and the over-regulation of the institution under review reduces the level of confidence of ordinary citizens, employers and investors. The lack of components in the management system of non-state pension funds responsible for risk management and internal audit, the purpose of which is to protect against risks and exercise internal control, respectively, is a significant shortcoming of today. Ways to solve the above problems are, in particular: the unification of state regulators of the financial market in Ukraine and the creation of a mega-regulator for the activities of NPFs; abolition of normative legal acts, which in practice have proved their ineffectiveness, in terms of regulating the activities of NPFs, with the simultaneous adoption of new legislation that would “reduce the cost” of the mechanism of creation and operation of the institution of NPFs; implementation of EU Directive 2016/2341 of 14 December 2016 into the legislation of Ukraine regarding the functions of risk management and internal audit of NPFs; introduction of legal norms prohibiting, in particular, the National Bank of Ukraine from interfering in the activities of NPFs in terms of return of their assets by insolvent banks and investment activities, on grounds not expressly provided by the Law of Ukraine “On Non-State Pension Provision” and establishing legal grounds for personal liability persons for such actions.