As the global uncertainty continues, institutional investors are struggling to understand and evaluate the new economic environment. The long-term legacy:
a better appreciation of risk.
Older workers are much less confident about their retirement security than they were two years ago as a result of the financial crisis. Workers with defined benefit plans are much more confident in their retirement prospects than those who participate only in a defined contribution plan, a Watson Wyatt study has found.
Pay raises are down significantly in Asia-Pacific from what they were nine months ago. Many companies have frozen pay in 2009, particularly in locations where businesses are more exposed to the slowdown in global trade — Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
Companies with well-functioning risk management functions cultivate a culture that is not afraid to examine risk broadly. Watson Wyatt's Sim Segal discusses how to create such a culture in an interview on Mash Risk Television.