All IPE articles in April 2021 (Magazine)
View all stories from this issue.
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Country ReportSocial partner pensions: An overlooked model
Just one new DC-type arrangement has emerged in Germany in the past three years. More could follow, bringing a boost to Germany’s neglected second pillar
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Special ReportPrivate markets: A shift in priorities
The COVID-19 pandemic has modified the selection process for managers of real assets and private equity
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Special ReportSpecial Report – Manager selection
In this special report, we analyse the shift in priorities when it comes to selecting real assets and private equity managers, with ESG representing a ‘make or break’ for some investors. We also talk to two leading investors – the UK’s University Superannuation Scheme (USS) and Sweden’s Tredje AP-fonden (AP3) – about their approach to manager selection and due diligence.
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FeaturesSelectivity is key in SPAC market
The vogue for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) has something in common with many other fashions, whether in investment or in the shops. Just when you think the trend cannot get even hotter, the temperature rises yet further.
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InterviewsHow we run our money: Sampension
Henrik Olejasz Larsen, CIO at Denmark’s Sampension, talks to Carlo Svaluto Moreolo about the fund’s bias towards value equities and its diversification strategy
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Country Report
Politics and investment: Germany looks to Sweden
Politicians are looking abroad for ways to boost equity investment in long-term savings
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Asset Class ReportsTrade Finance: Weathering the storm
Trade and supply-chain finance has faced several threats in recent years but the opportunity for institutional investors is alive and well
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FeaturesSustainability: A purpose-driven stock exchange
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have caught the imagination of the investment world. For many in the millennial generation the idea that its investments should fulfil positive social or environmental impacts seems self-evident. Yet many asset managers still struggle to incorporate SDGs into their strategies. Nor do they hesitate to trumpet questionable ESG credentials to investors.
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Opinion PiecesEquities to the fore as an inflation hedge
At a time when institutions can deploy billions swiftly at the touch of a few buttons, there is increasing focus on deploying capital well. A notable buzzword of late has been ‘resilience’ as pension funds look to downside risks.
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Special ReportUSS & DiligenceVault: Digital platform eases process of due diligence
USSIM reports positive experience using DiligenceVault’s platform to carry out due diligence of asset managers
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Opinion PiecesGuest viewpoint: Francesco Curto, DWS
The UK’s report into the Economics of Diversity, the Dasgupta review, highlights that our economic model is not sustainable
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FeaturesFixed Income, Rates, Currencies: Rising yields signal reflation
The Federal Reserve has not hinted at its future plans to unwind quantitative easing (QE). However, markets are looking to 2013’s ‘taper tantrum’ for an explanation of the dramatic US-led bond market sell-offs.
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Asset Class ReportsMulti-asset credit: Switching tactics to deal with volatility
MAC strategies allow investors to shift investments tactically to capitalise on a wide range of niche markets
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Features
Dual-class share plans fuel concern over stewardship and governance
Introducing dual-class share structures to make London a more competitive financial centre would weaken shareholder rights and make it harder to influence corporate behaviour, institutional investors and trade bodies have warned.
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FeaturesInflation strategy: Conditions look ripe for a new commodities supercycle
The media briefly got excited when the followers of Reddit – a social news website often used by political activists – ineffectually attempted to ramp up silver prices in February. But news about commodity prices other than oil and gold rarely make headlines. For most institutional investors, commodities are a Cinderella asset class. A fleeting moment in fashion before the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) has been superseded by widespread indifference.
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InterviewsOn the record: Value makes a comeback
IPE asked two European institutional investors what biases are built in their equity portfolios, as value equities show signs of new-found strength
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Opinion PiecesHopes for coherence in sustainability disclosures regulations
It could have been done differently, but, nonetheless, a clear path is emerging as to how EU sustainable finance regulations will become more of a coherent whole. The problem that has been perceived and outlined time and time again by investor groups is that disclosures are being asked of their constituencies – asset managers, pension funds – for which the data is not really available, or only at a significant cost. Tough, some may say, get on with it.
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Asset Class ReportsUS high yield: A changing market
US high yield looks attractive against investment-grade credit although there are important changes for key sectors
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Country ReportPension Risk Management: Dealing with a challenging year
German pension investors are evolving to adapt to new realities in terms of assets and liabilities
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Opinion PiecesLetter from US: Pension bonds raise concerns
The resurgence of interest in pension obligation bonds (POBs) is one of the effects of the pandemic on the US pension funds industry. Indeed in 2020 POB issuance reached its highest level in a decade, exceeding $6bn (€5bn), according to Municipal Market Analytics (MMA), an independent research firm focusing on the US municipal bonds.
