All articles by Barbara Ottawa – Page 62
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German funds look to emerging market debt – HSBC
GERMANY – German pension funds' appetite for fixed income exposure will push them towards investing in emerging market debt, according to HSBC.
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Valida argues for mandatory second pillar
AUSTRIA – Andreas Zakostelsky, head of Valida, is convinced that a mandatory second pillar would increase participation in Austrian occupational pension funds from its current level of 20% to 80% by 2020.
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WPV defends Versorgungswerke
GERMANY – Calls to integrate the funded first-pillar pension professional schemes into the state retirement provision would harm the system, says Hans-Wilhelm Korfmacher, managing director of WPV, the Dusselfdorf-based scheme for accountants.
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Positive returns push Publica above full funding
SWITZERLAND – The CHF 32.5bn (€22.7bn) Swiss Publica fund returned 10.13% in 2009 but is planning some organisational changes.
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German tax consultants fund to diversify equities and real estate
GERMANY – The €520m pension fund for tax consultants in the German province of Northrhine-Westphalia (NRW) is seeking to diversify its investments through specialist equity and Asian real estate mandates.
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IMF predicts Russian pension fund growth
RUSSIA – The International Monetary Fund has stated expects private pension funds “to grow rapidly” in Russia as pension benefits increasingly become part of salary packages.
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Real estate lowered Swiss returns in 2009
SWITZERLAND – Calculations conducted by State Street suggest Swiss pension funds returned in 2009 were driven as a result of equity returns but lowered by real estate.
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NewsGerman province mulls an end to PAYG pensions for ministers
GERMANY – Ministers in the north German province of Schleswig-Holstein might in future have to take care of their own pensions if the Green party succeeds.
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NewsZurich prosecutor confirms investigation into UBS
SWITZERLAND – The department for financial crime of the Zurich public prosecution office has started preliminary research into the Swiss bank UBS, a spokesman for the prosecutor confirmed to IPE.
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Serbian second pillar pensions on hold indefinitely
SERBIA – Neither the IMF nor local market players now expect to see a Serbian funded second pillar happening under the current government, despite the earlier prospect of reform.
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Swiss funds returned over 2.3% in Q1
SWITZERLAND – Preliminary calculations by Credit Suisse suggest Swiss pension funds delivered a 2.32% return in the first quarter and surprising asset allocation revelations while Swisscanto's research could show there has been a significant funding level increase.
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Alvoso wins latest Ascoop leaver
SWITZERLAND – The exodus from the heavily underfunded Ascoop transport pension fund is continuing with the Auto AG Schwyz joining the small collective fund Alvoso.
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Ethos demands legal action over former UBS board
SWITZERLAND – Shareholders of UBS have declined to discharge the Swiss bank’s former board members in a close vote, so Ethos has renewed calls for legal action.
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Austrian funds return 3% in Q1
AUSTRIA – Austrian Pensionskassen could be heading for a good annual result, the pension fund association FVPK has suggested, as the funds returned an average 3% on investments in the first quarter of this year.
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Swiss left-wing raises pension issues on referendum tailwind
SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Social Democrats (SP) want to separate pension money from other assets within insurance companies while another left-wing politician wants pension funds to be supervised by the financial supervisory authority “Finma” in future.
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Calls for Slovak pension reform grow louder
SLOVAKIA – The Slovak Academy of Sciences has been joined in its calls for pension reform in Slovakia by the ministry of social affairs, a government adviser and a representative of the trade unions, during an AEIP conference in Bratislava.
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Latvia admits second pillar contributions too high
LATVIA – Contributions to the Latvian mandatory second pillar will remain at 2% for 2010 and then increase to 4% next year, reaching 6% in 2012.
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Funded first pillar raises CEE mobility questions
EUROPE – Non-accumulated pension assets from various first pillar pension systems might lead to problems for people wanting to buy an annuity, a representative of the Slovak ministry for social affairs has warned at a conference in Vienna.
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German court rules employers must top up outsourced pensions
GERMANY – A regional German court has ruled an employer must compensate retired former employees if the Pensionskasse they are signed up to eventually cuts employees’ benefits.
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Debate on Polish second pillar transfers fails to resolve row
POLAND – The Polish social ministry believes the current second pillar pensions regime is still too expensive, but officials are still struggling to reach a consensus on how to cut these costs.
