All articles by Barbara Ottawa – Page 44
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News
Whole of Southern Europe set for euro-zone exit, Invesco warns
EUROPE - The whole of Southern Europe will eventually leave the euro-zone due to a general lack of competitiveness, with Greece and Portugal first in line for the exit, according to John Greenwood, chief economist at Invesco. In a presentation at the asset manager’s annual investment seminar in Austria, Greenwood ...
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News
Pension funds at risk from onerous reporting, overregulation – APK
Regulatory environment a ‘major challenge’, says chairman at Austrian pension fund.
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News
Czech pension reform to usher in new second-pillar system
CZECH REPUBLIC – General public still divided on issue, with older people sceptical of pensions not provided by state.
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News
Returns drop sharply in 2011 for Austria's severance pay funds
AUSTRIA – Performance hit by large bond allocations of more than 85% on average.
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News
European institutionals 'immature' in assessing high-yield bond risk
Threadneedle says rapid move into investment grade should help them to ‘think rationally’.
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News
Austrian pension funds report negative results for 2011
AUSTRIA – Schemes look to broaden investment universe after losing 3% on average last year.
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News
Ruling on foreign equity cap for Polish pension funds to have 'little impact'
EUROPE - Poland’s abandonment of a 5% cap on foreign equities for pension funds will have little impact on the industry, according to Dominik Radziwill, state undersecretary at the Polish Finance Ministry. Last week, after a protracted legal battle, the European Court of Justice ruled that Poland’s stance on foreign ...
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News
Year-end rally fails to lift Swiss pension funds into positive territory
Funding targets come up short as equity rally unable to offset previous negative quarters.
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News
Austrian supervisor demands more say in pension fund investments
Proposals for so-called ‘safety pension’ will require ‘stricter investment rules’.
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News
Switzerland outlines possible changes to second-pillar pension system
Long-awaited consultation report touches on hot topics of conversion rate, minimum interest rate.
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NewsPoland contravening investment rules for pension funds – ECJ
Government loses protracted dispute with European Commission over 5% foreign investment cap.
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NewsASIP predicts consolidation in Swiss pension market
Organisation said collective schemes could be more efficient for small funds.
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NewsASIP calls for fee transparency following court decision
Ruling, which said avoiding conflicts of interest was key, welcomed by manager Swisscanto.
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NewsMercer criticises Austrian plans for pension guarantee
Guaranteed benefits would mean 'only higher costs and no advantages'.
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NewsStudy calls for 'drastic' simplification of Swiss second-pillar pension system
Government-backed study finds admin costs 30% higher than previously estimated.
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NewsAustria's VBV considers 'emerging market debt' of Southern Europe
Asset management head says pension funds might consider 'emerging markets on our doorstep'.
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NewsGerman investors using master KAGs for 'flexible manager exchange'
GERMANY – Respondents also cite implementation of overlay strategies and reduction of admin costs.
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Country Report
Switzerland: No magic formula
The minimum interest rate in the Swiss second pillar was recently cut from 2% to 1.5% for 2012, writes Barbara Ottawa. But experts believe this is still too high to be sustainable
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Country Report
Switzerland: The problem of converting minds
Legally, Swiss Pensionskassen have to apply a 6.9% conversion rate but the actual rate used is much lower. Barbara Ottawa asks why politics are not adjusting to reality
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Features
New chairman rings in the changes at AbA
Attendees of this year’s autumn conference of the German pension fund association Arbeitsgemeinschaft betriebliche Altersversorgung (AbA) in Cologne found an organisation preparing for a new pension era in Germany and across Europe.
