Analysis and opinion – Page 4
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Opinion PiecesNot business as usual
Basing investment decisions on short-term events can have long-term consequences, so it is vital trustees seek guidance
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Analysis
Perspective: Four difficult questions facing pension fund investors
The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic poses many difficult questions for investors. Pension funds will probably have to reconsider many long-standing assumptions. These are some of the most intractable.
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Features
Long Term Matters: Learning from COVID-19
As the tide of the Second World War was turning in favour of the Allies, there was a ferment of discussion – initially bottom up – about how to build a better world when the war was over. While loved ones were fighting overseas and people at home were struggling with rationing and movement restrictions, some made the time to think about the future. The Bretton Woods Agreement, establishing fixed exchange rates, happened ten months before the war ended in Europe.
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Analysis
Pensions accounting: A matter of survival
If there is one thing DB scheme sponsors and trustees can be sure of this year, the COVID-19 pandemic is going to affect not only their ability to fund schemes but also how they account for them
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Features
Letter from US: Short-term relief, long-term pain
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an immediate and transparent impact on American defined contribution plans. But it also has implications for defined benefit plans in the long run
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Features
Guest Viewpoint: Jeremy Coller
The global shutdown is painful for almost every sector of the economy. But in some industries the real damage will begin after the pandemic ends
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Opinion Pieces
Knowns and unknowns
“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” Donald Rumsfeld, former US secretary of defence, February 2002
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from a country in crisis
Empty streets and squares are not a usual sight in Italy, a country whose people love to socialise. The deadly COVID-19 pandemic has even taught Italians to make orderly queues outside supermarkets. The reality is that while Italians are not good at prevention, they are outstanding at reacting to emergency situations, thanks to their experience dealing with earthquakes and other natural disasters.
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Analysis
Coronavirus: Pension funds take comfort from relative health in turbulent times
European pension funds have underlined their position as long-term investors as they face unprecedented market turbulence and an economic downturn.
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Opinion Pieces
Be prepared for the future
As 2019 came to an end, there were a number of risks that investors around the world would have to watch out for – Brexit negotiations, the US election, the trade war between China and the US – but nobody could have guessed that the COVID-19 pandemic was to come.
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Book Review
Book review: Radical Uncertainty by John Kay and Mervyn King
Within the terms of their own analysis, the authors of Radical Uncertainty might be remembered for a prescience they could neither possess nor aspire to
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Opinion Pieces
The case for a UK sovereign wealth fund
In November 2012 I suggested in an article in IPE that the UK should set up a sovereign wealth fund. The House of Commons had a parliamentary debate on setting one up in December 2016* and included the IPE article in the background papers. Unfortunately, Brexit overshadowed all else, but now that it is done, there may be a case for revisiting the arguments.
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Features
Research: The new benchmarks
Sustainability is set to become the gold standard of investing
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Opinion Pieces
Understanding the pandemic’s impact
When facing a serious threat it pays to remain as calm as possible. The temptation to panic is inevitably strong but it should be resisted.
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Opinion Pieces
Long Term Matters: Investing in an age of pandemics
Pandemics are master classes in managing existential uncertainty. Being overwhelmed is ‘normal’. Here are seven actions that we can take as citizens and investment professionals. The focus is on the US and the UK: their governments are floundering. The unravelling in the US is dangerous for investors. Both the UK and the US are very responsive to the financial sector.
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Analysis
Pensions accounting: IASB faces disclosure tussle
The story of the latest work by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on pensions disclosures starts last July when the board agreed on two specific disclosure amendments that it wanted to make to International Accounting Standard 19 (IAS 19), Employee Benefits.
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Features
Letter from US: The Democratic agenda takes shape
“On day one, [Joe] Biden will use the full authority of the executive branch to make progress and significantly reduce emissions. Biden recognises we must go further, faster and more aggressively than ever before, by (among other things) requiring public companies to disclose climate risks and the greenhouse gas emissions in their operations and supply chains.” That is Joe Biden’s ‘Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice’ as it appears on joebiden.com, the official campaign website.
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Features
Guest Viewpoint: Steve Waygood
History may well look back on 2019 as the year the world finally woke up to the threats posed by climate change. Yet, with the negotiation failures that occurred at the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid (COP25), the year ended on a significant downer.
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Opinion Pieces
Investing in an age of pandemics
Pandemics are master classes in managing existential uncertainty. Being overwhelmed is ‘normal’. Here are seven actions that we can take as citizens and investment professionals. The focus is on the US and the UK: their governments are floundering. The unravelling in the US is dangerous for investors. Both the UK and the US are very responsive to the financial sector.
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Opinion Pieces
Coronavirus: Letter from Liam Kennedy, editorial director, IPE
Very few of our readers will not be affected in some way by the spread of coronavirus and COVID-19. For IPE and most of its editorial team based in the centre of London, the virus has curtailed travel and meetings. We have also taken the decision to postpone events, ...
