Asset Allocation – Page 226
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Features
Starting on ten years of reform
In March 2002 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia disappeared as its two remaining republics, Serbia and Montenegro, opted for a looser union with their own currencies, economic policies and customs procedures. While the union retains some federal structures such as foreign and defence ministries and a joint president, other institutions ...
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Features
Russian system creaks into action
Russia’s pension reform has been slow in coming. For the past eight years, a three-pillar system has gradually been taking shape, and over the past two years, developments to the second pillar appear to have now been finalised. Back in January, President Putin signed the law to allow private asset ...
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Features
Jury is out on regulators' actions
Whether you are reading a newspaper on the London underground or in a Milan coffee shop, the headlines may be different, but the translation is the same. “Pensions in crisis”… “Pension industry time bomb”…. Equities markets have been in relative free fall since the turn of the new millennium as ...
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Features
Latvia and Estonia streak ahead
Lithuania’s private pensions system differs in some technical respects from its Latvian and Estonian counterparts, including the completely voluntary nature of the second pillar and its use of a system of individualised accounts. Its compatriots are nevertheless some years ahead in establishing private provision. Latvia has had third-pillar funds in ...
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Features
Private pensions' two-pronged approach
After lagging behind its neighbours in private pensions and investment funds provisions, Lithuania has passed a comprehensive set of financial laws allowing for second-pillar pensions and clearing the way for third-pillar pensions and investment funds to operate on a level footing with life insurance. The significant legal changes took place ...
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Features
Switch to DC poses real problems
The UK has a long history of defined benefit (DB) pensions, but in recent years many employers have switched to defined contribution (DC) schemes, particularly for new members. As the requirements are different for each of these arrangements, changing from DB to DC presents companies with administration and governance challenges. ...
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Features
Irrational despondency follows exuberance
Pension managers are yearning for the old days, when they only had to worry about benchmarking and tracking errors. Today there are a variety of other issues to deal with, ranging from new regulations to yawning funding deficits. Such lean times, especially when they follow the fat years that pension ...
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Features
Is there a future for equities in institutional portfolios?
Three years of bear markets have plagued investors across Europe and around the world. In some instances falling bond yields, driving up the liabilities, have compounded the problem. Notwithstanding the recent rally in global markets, many investors continue to question whether there is a future in equity investment. This article ...
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Features
External managers still make sense
All over Europe, pension funds are handing over the running of their assets to third-party managers. Outsourcing has become a buzz word as regulatory reform, a clampdown on costs and risk, and a greater awareness of best market practice lead pension funds into new asset classes with new managers and ...
