Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

M.Comm. / Unemployment in South Africa is a growing concern. With unemployment reaching proportions, poverty and related crime levels are on the increase. Government, pressured by organised labour groups, is looking at all possible means of creating employment. COSATU, as a representative of organised labour, are calling for increased state participation in the economy in order to improve the "workers" plight. COSATU has identified retirement funds as a potential source of employment creation. Worth some R600 billion, retirement funds represent 35% or more of total savings in South Africa, and provide about 60% of local finance to companies. COSATU view these assets as belonging to their members, i.e. a large part of the funds consist of workers' deferred wages in the form of savings for retirement. COSATU believes that these funds should be invested in areas that promote their members' plight. At the end of October 2000, the Economic Empowerment Commission will have handed their formal empowerment proposals to the President. In an article, which appeared in the Financial Times on 14 September 2000, "Blueprint set out for black advancement", details were given of the Economic Empowerment Commission's expected proposals in this regard: "The black economic empowerment commission has proposed wide-ranging recommendations to reinvigorate black economic empowerment, stimulate fixed investment and accelerate economic growth. Commission Chairman Cyril Ramaphosa revealed an outline of the full package of the commission's proposals for the first time yesterday during a joint briefing of several parliamentary committees. The commission has called on business, labour and government to reach an "investment growth" accord and adopt a national black economic empowerment strategy.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2003. / Thesis directed by Teresa Ghilarducci for the Department of Economics. "June 2003." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-139).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Mainz, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references (p. vii-xiii).

Thesis (PhD (Public Affairs))-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Pension funds are the principal sources of retirement income for millions of people in the world. Pension funds are also important contributors to the gross domestic product (GDP) of countries. This study focuses on pension funds in Kenya. Retirement income accounts for 68 percent of the total income of retirees in Kenya, while pension assets account for 30 percent of Kenya’s GDP. It is therefore important that pension funds be managed effectively, not only in Kenya, but also in other countries. The primary objective of the study is to investigate ways of enhancing pension fund efficiency by establishing the determinants of such efficiency. More specifically, the study explores the effect that the organisational culture, regulations, investment strategy, ethics, risk management, design, size and the age profile of members of pension funds exert on the efficiency of these funds. A sample of 749 pension funds was drawn from the Kenyan Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) register. The sample selection was based on the criterion that these pension funds should have been in existence within the period 2001 to 2008. Seven hundred and forty-nine (749) questionnaires were mailed to the trustees of these pension funds. Three hundred and sixty-two (362) usable questionnaires were returned, which translated into a response rate of 48.3 per cent. Except for financial efficiency, self-constructed instruments based on secondary literature reviews were used to measure the variables in the hypothesised model to improve pension fund efficiency. Appropriate steps were taken to ensure the validity and reliability of these measuring instruments. The empirical results revealed that leadership, governance, regulations, design, membership age and size of funds had no significant influence on operational efficiency of these funds. The results further showed that the membership age, design, regulations and operational efficiency of pension funds exerted no significant influence on their financial efficiency. The results also revealed that the membership age, size and design of pension funds did not influence how these funds were led by their leadership. iv The empirical results however showed that smaller pension funds were perceived to exhibit better financial efficiency, while pension funds with membership aged 31 - 40 were perceived to be better governed compared to other age groups. Finally, in rigorous structural equation analyses, no significant relationships were found between fund regulations (independent variable), on the one hand, and fund governance and leadership (dependent variables), on the other hand. Use of simple linear regression however disclosed a significant positive relationship between the afore-mentioned independent variable and dependent variables.

M.Com. (Investment Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Abstract not available

Companies and indeed governments all over the world have tried to secure the future of their employees by setting up pension schemes (Wallace 2002). However, pension contributions might become a huge unbearable expenditure for some organizations, as this presentation will show. While initially most companies willing to set up a pension scheme would almost always regard the Defined Benefit (DB) Pension Scheme as the scheme of first choice, the trend has since changed (Ross and Wills 2002) over the years. Possible causes responsible for this shift in focus are many (Twinney 1995). The shift could have contributed to some companies sponsoring Defined Benefit schemes to have a rethink on which type of pension scheme to operate. Zambezi River Authority is a quasi-government entity operating in both Zambia and Zimbabwe. It set up a DB pension scheme for its employees in 1987 and has not been spared from this pressure to re-examine its pension fund. In recent years the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme has recorded huge shortfalls (Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme Accounts 1999 to 2004). This has resulted in the employer struggling to pay up his pension obligations. Sooner or later, if nothing is done, the pension scheme will probably not be able to meet the objectives for which it was set up. The purpose of this study is to investigate and discuss the problems being faced by the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme. The paper outlines the different types of pension funds and compares them with the type of fund the Zambezi River Authority operates. The results of this study show that while the benefit structure of the Zambezi River Authority Pension Fund could have been relevant at the time the fund was set up, circumstances have substantially changed from what they were then. It is argued in the study that if no action is taken, the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme is likely to collapse. It is recommended in the study that the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme should be changed from a Defined Benefit Scheme to a Defined Contribution Scheme. It is also recommended that the management of the scheme should be changed and that the scheme should invest in portfolios that bring positive returns. Above all, it is recommended that members should take a more active role in the affairs of their pension scheme. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu Natal, 2006.