How and Why Pension Funds Use Derivatives

With over $58 trillion in assets globally, pension fund managers are major participants in financial markets and play a vital role in helping to provide post-retirement incomes for plan employees. Meeting such an important goal requires careful consideration of investment goals and risks, and alignment of assets and liabilities within strict fiduciary and regulatory standards.

To address these challenges, pension fund managers have steadily expanded their use of derivatives over the past several decades, using interest rate swaps, currency forwards, inflation swaps and other instruments.

This paper examines how and why pension funds use derivatives, drawing on examples. It also reviews the global regulatory landscape that shapes derivatives use and highlights the role ISDA plays in helping pension funds navigate these markets.

Click on the PDF to read the full paper.

Documents (1) for How and Why Pension Funds Use Derivatives

Safe, Efficient Markets for SFTs

Securities financing transactions (SFTs) – including repurchase agreements (repo), securities lending, buy/sell backs and margin lending – are foundational to the functioning of modern financial markets. They support the day-to-day distribution of liquidity, enable collateral to move efficiently across cash...

ISDA Recommendations to Simplify EU Regulation

On March 9, ISDA submitted a paper to the European Commission setting out focused proposals to improve the functioning of the EU regulatory framework for derivatives. The paper comprises eight targeted recommendations to simplify selected Level 1 provisions in a...