Pension fund

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A Pension fund is a pool of assets forming an independent legal entity that are bought with the contributions to a pension plan for the exclusive purpose of financing pension plan benefits.

Pension funds are important shareholders of listed and private companies. They are especially important to the stock market where large institutional investors like the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan dominate. The largest 300 pension funds collectively hold about $6 trillion in assets.^[1] In January 2008, The Economist reported that Morgan Stanley estimates that pension funds world-wide hold over US$20 trillion in assets, the largest for any category of investor ahead of mutual funds, insurance companies, currency reserves, sovereign-wealth funds, hedge funds, or private equity.^[2]

Contents 1 Classifications 1.1 Open vs. closed pension funds 1.2 Public vs. private pension funds 2 Examples 2.1 Canada 2.1.1 Government 2.1.2 Private 2.2 United States 2.2.1 Government 2.3 Chile 2.4 The Netherlands 2.5 Singapore 3 Largest Pension funds 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Classifications

[edit] Open vs. closed pension funds

Open pension funds support at least one pension plan with no restriction on membership while closed pension funds support only pension plans that are limited to certain employees.[1]

Closed pension funds are further subclassified into:

• Single employer pension funds
• Multi-employer pension funds
• Related member pension funds
• Individual pension funds

[edit] Public vs. private pension funds

A public pension fund is one that is regulated under public sector law while a private pension fund is regulated under private sector law. In certain countries the distinction between public or government pension funds and private pension funds may be difficult to assess.

[edit] Examples

[edit] Canada

[edit] Government

• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
• Canada Pension Plan
• Alberta Investment Management

[edit] Private

• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (union-controlled)
• Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)

[edit] United States

[edit] Government

• California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)
• California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)
• Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
• Retirement Systems of Alabama
• Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS)
• Kansas City Public School Retirement System (KCPSRS)
• Minnesota Public Employees' Retirement Association (MNPERA)
• Minnesota Teachers' Retirement Association (MNTRA)
• Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado (FPPA)

[edit] Chile

• Chile pension system

[edit] The Netherlands

• Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (ABP)
• PGGM

[edit] Singapore

• Central Provident Fund

[edit] Largest Pension funds

Country Fund Assets $Billion Inception Origin Approx wealth per citizen  Japan Japan Government Pension Investment $935.5 N/A Non-commodity N/A  Netherlands ABP $273.9 N/A Non-commodity N/A  Canada (Quebec) Quebec Pension Fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec $258 1965 Non-commodity N/A  United States (California) California Public Employees Pension Fund $218.2 N/A Non-commodity N/A  Canada Canada Pension Plan Investment Board CPP Investment Board $123 1997 Non-commodity N/A  Canada (Ontario) Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan $109 1990 Non-commodity N/A

[edit] References

1. ^ Global Investment Review
2. ^ The Economist Jan 17, 2008 (economist.com)

[edit] See also

• Global assets under management
• Pension insurance contract

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