Private Pension Systems : Cross-Country Investment Performance

This study investigates the performance of private pensions systems across countries a topic which has yet to be adequately addressed in the literature. Specifically, this study examines the relationship between pension fund performance (as captured by gross real rates of return and the three year standard deviation of those returns) and the structure of a country's private pension industry and the design of its pension schemes. A database covering 27 countries over the period 1990-2007 was created for this research. The study's key findings include: (i) higher returns are associated with size (systems with more assets under management tend to generate higher returns), type (occupational schemes tend to generate higher returns than do personal pension schemes and closed schemes tend to generate higher returns than do open schemes), and number (systems with multiple funds tend to generate higher returns than those with a single fund); and (ii) lower volatility in pension system returns is associated with older systems, voluntary (rather than mandatory) systems, systems with restrictions on foreign investing, and systems with minimum return guarantees.