Asset Allocation – Page 341
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Features
Blind dates for euro party players
France will. Spain and Portugal would love to. And the UK can’t decide. Jason Crosland reports on the arduous process in preparing to meet the monetary and fiscal demands of the euro
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Features
Japan: Time to join Japanese bulls as currency fears ease
We believe the Japanese equity market will bottom out this quarter in its present range (Nikkei 18,000 and Topix 1,400). The market should find its feet during the first quarter and will be significantly more buoyant through the summer. The market has trended downward because market sentiment is overly depressed. ...
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Features
Misplaced 'EMU-phoria' could result in bumpy ride
Andrew Gillies discusses the clouds on the horizon for pension funds
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Features
The king of the cash mountain
Siemens feel they have reached the end of the line with the book reserve system. Herbert Lohneiss tells Fennell Betson why he is not satisfied. At Siemens, they reckon they have gone as far as they can to funding the group’s enormous pensions provisions under the book reserve system. But ...
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Features
Switzerland: Caution and consolidation are watch words
After market increases of 25% in 1995 and 19% in 1996, Swiss analysts are urging caution. “We advise some hedging of positions after last year,” says Bert Röegsegger, head of research at ATAG Asset Management in Berne, “though we are also advising investors not to sell”. Increased profits for Swiss ...
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Features
Swiss chafe at overseas limit
Swiss pension fund managers who outperformed the Swiss market last year hope to do so again in 1997, but are concerned about prospective levels of returns. The approach will need to be highly selective, says one manager. His favoured stocks are pharmaceuticals and fi-nancials, and he has plans to increase ...
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Features
Steer clear of US, warns Lombard Odier
Our main investment assumption, of a more balanced world growth, estimated at 2.5% for OECD countries, stems from the economic recoveries expected in Japan and Eur-ope, together with more moderate US expansion. We expect inflation to remain pretty much under control, despite gradually increasing wage pressures in the US and ...
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Features
USA: Looking to the long term come what may
If you were a US pension manager faced with the rise and rise of the US market, what would your domestic equity strategy be? Three plan sponsors have come up with responses that are surprisingly uniform despite their contrasting styles. The giant $105bn CALPERS has 80% of its $43bn US ...
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Features
International competition puts focus on pension costs
Global competition made maximising long-term investment returns on pensions assets a key priority for multinational employers, according to Gert van Bezooyen, head of corporate pensions at Philips International in Eindhoven. “Excellent performance is what we are looking for as we approach the 21st century, taking into account the global competitive ...
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Features
UK: Discounting the election
The general election’s impact on the markets will be limited but, according to UK analysts, it will mark a dividing line for activity in both the bond and equity markets. Whoever wins will inherit a relatively benign economic picture. At Commerzbank in London, treasurer and deputy general manager Jean-Michael D’Oultremont ...
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Features
Moderate expectations and a tilt to equities
In ABN AMRO’s asset allocation for the first quarter, we overweight equities and underweight bonds and cash. For 1997, we expect, on average, economic growth to be moderate, while inflation will remain at a relatively low level. This outlook is not only justified by the most recent cyclical indicators but ...
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Features
Feeling the heat
British pension fund managers themselves say they are shying away from the UK stock market as the year begins, amid worries that equities are overvalued. The economy may overheat around general election time, raising concerns about inflation which could in turn lead to a burst of monetary tightening later on, ...
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Features
UK: Prospect of steady growth
The minimum funding requirement (MFR) will have little impact on the investment strategy of the £1.5bn ($2.4bn) Philips UK Pension Fund as the fund carried out an asset liability study in 1993. It has since moved from a minimal position in index-linked gilts to a current holding of over £400mn ...
