As other European Union countries and NATO members, Germany is facing the prospect of increasing spending for security and defence to support Ukraine, and prepare for a long-lasting confrontation with Russia.
The election of Donald Trump as US president means the country will likely meddle less in international affairs, and in the war in Ukraine.
Germany and the rest of Europe will have to take responsibility for their own security more than before, according to the German government in a paper about the country’s Security and Defense Industrial Strategy.
The security and defence industry needs access to capital to expand capacities, for technological innovation to conduct an hybrid warfare, and rules on sustainability must not have any impact on companies looking for funding, according to the government.
The German fund industry association BVI, the German Structured Securities Association (Bundesverband für strukturierte Wertpapiere, BSW), and the German Banking Industry Committee (Die Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft) have relaxed exclusion criteria to unlock ESG-compliant investments in the defence industry.
The associations have updated a so-called ESG target market concept (Zielmarkt Konzept), now allowing investments in companies that generate more than 10% of revenues from the production of armaments.
Still in Germany, the Bundesrat, the constitutional body representing the German states, has recommended a review of some points of the second pillar pension reform (Betriebsrentenstärkungsgesetz II), drafted by traffic-light coalition government – as a message to the next government.
The political parties have started their electoral campaigns sending messages to the public about pensions, among other things.
In Switzerland, the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht) has rejected complaints filed to nullify the result of the referendum that saw the approval of the reform of the first-pillar pension system in 2022.
The plaintiff objected to a lack of information available to voters on AHV’s financial outlook at the time of the referendum, while the outlook turned out to be better than expected after the Swiss Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) reviewed expenses.
Stéphane Rossini, FSIO director, paid for the mistake as he handed out his resignation in October, but an investigation has, meanwhile, cleared him from being responsible for the error.
Still in Swtizerland, Migros Pensionskasse has opted for a riskier asset allocation strategy, increasing investments in equities and infrastructure.
Items to note:
- The IPE Real Assets Seminar Series 2025 is starting in March 2025, with one event in Quai Zurich Campus, on Wednesday 26 March
Luigi Serenelli
IPE DACH Correspondent
This news briefing was published earlier in the week. If you would like to receive it regularly, on your ‘IPE profile’, go to ‘My Newsletters‘ and select any from the list.
Luigi is IPE's Berlin-based DACH correspondent.
His coverage includes regulation and the latest pensions and investments trends, and, being a native Italian, he also covers Italy’s pensions market.
He has reported from Italy and Germany on international politics and business for European and US publications including USA Today, Bloomberg BNA and for the investigative magazine L’Espresso. He was previously Germany correspondent for Mergermarket covering M&A.View full Profile
No comments yet