Investing Pension Fund Facilities: World and Russian Practice

Background/Objectives: Current importance of the investigation is stipulated by the issue of pension schemes improvement. Particularly, this is the issue of the new pension model pending to be implemented in Russia. Methods: The study makes use of the conventional scientific methods: analysis, synthesis, making and testing hypothesis. Structural analysis and time series investigations have also been used extensively. Findings: Many experts share the view that the improvement of the pension scheme at the modern stage is associated with the development of the investment part of the state pension that is managed by the pension funds. This study is aimed at identifying the trends that characterize the investment activities of the pension funds in different countries. Major attention has been paid to the investment activities of Russian pension funds. The study identifies the trends as follows: Continuous growth of investments, diversification of the investment portfolio due to higher share of infrastructure projects. It has been noted that the opportunities for the investment activities of Russian pension funds are limited. This fact explains the comparatively low amounts of the investments and their short-term nature. Applications/Improvements: The materials of the study can be of particular practical value for the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for the purposes of establishing and upgrading the pension scheme.