Courses

0452022-04-06T03:47:45-04:00

045 – Advanced International Best Practices in Pensions Cycle in Today’s World

Date: May 2 – 6, 2022 | Aug 1 – 5, 2022
Location: Houston, Texas USA
CEUs: 6.0

Registration Discount: $3,900 – You must Register 60 days in advance and payment must be Paid In Full 30 days prior to the start of class.

Course Overview

This intensive 10 day program is comprised of the following 3 courses:
• Fundamentals of Pension Scheme Today
• Pension Fund Assets Investment
• Governance and Regulation of Pension Scheme

There are unique financial and societal challenges and complexities facing those who manage, regulate or provide governance for pension schemes. This course has been designed to build delegates’ knowledge step-by-step to equip them with a 360º understanding of the modern pensions landscape.

Course objectives:

On completion, you will be able to:
• Understand how pension schemes work, including scheme structure, investment fundamentals, liability estimations, pension scheme responsibilities and the workings of the asset markets
• Grasp the detail of modern portfolio theory, including the key risks of different asset types, asset valuation techniques, the benefits of private market and public security investments
• Understand the critical importance of the role of Regulators, Governors and Trustees, and the challenges, risks, issues and processes involved in discharging this role so that the best interests of pension scheme members are protected

KEY TOPICS:

• The implications of fiduciary and regulatory pension scheme responsibility
• Key asset valuation techniques for equities, bonds and property
• Equity market analysis and valuation techniques
• The role of bonds and money market securities in pension funds
• Understanding asset-liability risk from a pension fund perspective
• Risk management and the role of derivatives
• Roles of Regulators, Trustees and other responsible parties
• The pivotal role of pensions in contemporary economies
• Building confidence in pension systems and individual schemes
• Challenging advisors and service providers to deliver greater value
• The wider stewardship role of pension schemes in the future

Fundamentals of Pension Scheme Today

Contemporary pension schemes face some of the stiffest challenges in the history of pension provisioning. These include the issues presented by increasing pension member longevity, deep-seated scepticism of the financial services industry and the historic low investment (or even negative) returns being generated in asset markets in the “New Normal”.
Those responsible for pension governance and regulation have an increasingly demanding role in navigating the difficult waters of the today’s pension environment, frequently facing seemingly intractable problems and dilemmas in policy setting and strategic management.
It has never been more critical that Governors, Regulators and Trustees with a fiduciary duty towards pension scheme members have a sound understanding of the key processes in pension provisioning.
This course will deliver that understanding and essential knowledge, from the assumptions underlying actuarial estimation of liabilities, through investment fundamentals as well as the different pension scheme structures and their respective strengths and weaknesses.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: On completion, you will be able to:

• Understand the principal assumptions underlying liability estimation
• Analyze investment and compute theoretical asset values
• Appreciate the principles of asset-liability risk management
• Understand the headwinds faced in member engagement
• Appreciate the challenges of investment in contemporary asset markets
• Analyze the trade-offs required in effective scheme management

KEY TOPICS:

• The implications of fiduciary and regulatory pension scheme responsibility
• Inputs and assumptions underlying actuarial liability estimation
• Characteristics and dynamics of the principal investment asset classes
• Economic and political factors’ relationship to asset markets
• Key asset valuation techniques for equities, bonds and property
• Impact on the financial services industry of recent financial market history

Pension Fund Assets Investment

Against the backdrop of “New Normal” financial conditions of historic low interest rates, bond yields combined with low property rental yields, and disappointing equity market returns, pension schemes are under great pressure. They need to deliver higher returns to meet their increasing liabilities due to the greater longevity of pension scheme members.
Asset allocation remains a critical consideration as pension schemes seek to leverage their natural liquidity in order to generate higher returns from longer term investment in new capital assets. The traditional approach of allocating to existing securities markets – which may only result in increasingly inflated prices for existing capital – is increasingly being called into question.
Pension scheme Governors and Trustees with a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of members have also increasingly been questioning the value added by external asset managers, and their often disappointing performance, and taking on these responsibilities themselves.

There are many complex decisions to be made and this course will arm those responsible for investment of pension fund assets with the knowledge to make these critical choices with greater confidence.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

On completion, you will be able to:
• Understand the principal asset valuation techniques
• Appreciate the limitations of public security investment
• Analyze the risks and return potential of the major asset classes
• Understand the tenets of modern portfolio theory
• Appreciate the potential benefits of private market investment
• Analyze the key risks of different asset types

KEY TOPICS:

• Risk pricing across the principal asset classes
• Equity market analysis and valuation techniques
• The role of bonds and money market securities in pension funds
• Bond valuation and key risk measures including duration
• Understanding asset-liability risk from a pension fund perspective
• The critical role of liquidity in contemporary investment
• Risk management and the role of derivatives

Governance and Regulation of Pension Scheme

The roles of Regulators, Governors and Trustees with a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of pension scheme members have evolved in recent years to become of critical importance to the future of pension provisioning.
As pension scheme assets globally fall further behind the liabilities that they are intended to fund, and yields continue to fall, the requirement for regulatory reform driven from the “bottom up” under advisement from those responsible for schemes “at the coal face” has increased.

In addition to these challenges, the requirement for a more “hands on” approach to the stewardship of scheme assets has become evident against a backdrop of disappointing investments.
This course takes delegates through the roles, risks, issues and processes involved in protecting the rights and members of all beneficiaries; the challenges of pensions’ roles in improving financial inclusion; and the different regulatory models and challenges involved in protecting the interests of pension schemes.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

On completion, you will be able to:
• Appreciate the increasingly important societal and economic role of pensions
• Understand fiduciary responsibilities to stakeholders in scheme management
• Analyze the cash flow needs of the scheme vis-à-vis investment opportunities
• Appreciate the role of pension system regulators
• Understand recent initiatives towards more holistic and inclusive systems
• Challenge status quo systems in a reasoned and structured manner

KEY TOPICS:

• Pension scheme roles of Regulators, Trustees and other responsible parties
• The pivotal role of pensions in contemporary economies
• Poor performance of pension scheme assets and investment managers
• Building confidence in pension systems and individual schemes
• Challenging advisors and service providers to deliver greater value
• Strategic initiatives, e.g. increased scale, internal investment management
• The wider stewardship role of pension schemes in the future
Experiential Exercise: Exploring Emerging Trends in Pension Scheme

Target Audience

Governors, Regulators and Trustees with a fiduciary duty towards pension scheme members, Boards of Directors, Directors and Managers, Sr. Level Managers and Key Staff in Pension Management; Managers of Regulatory Agencies and Commissions; Executives and Policy Makers Human Resources and Capital Management; Managers of Training and Development in Pension Fund Management; consumer groups and government

Tuition: $4,000

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