All articles by Barbara Ottawa – Page 70

  • News

    Swisscanto sees easing of funding crisis

    2009-08-24T14:50:00Z

    [15:50 CEST 24-08] SWITZERLAND – The average funding level of Swiss pension funds has recovered slightly since the beginning of this year to 93.4%, according to Swisscanto calculations.

  • News

    Crisis halts pension fund creation

    2009-08-19T15:55:00Z

    [16:55 CEST 19-08] GERMANY – The German province of Lower Saxony has postponed plans to create a public pension fund, IPE has learnt.

  • News

    Swiss pension figures brighten funding picture

    2009-08-18T15:40:00Z

    [16:40 CEST 18-08] SWITZERLAND – Figures released by the supervisory authorities of the cantons of Solothurn, Basel-Land and Basel-City suggest only 32% of local pensionskassen are underfunded.

  • News

    Basic diversification rules still hold true – Austrian PKs

    2009-08-18T15:35:00Z

    [16:35 CEST 18-08] AUSTRIA – All three heads of the largest Austrian Pensionskassen believe the financial crisis should not fundamentally change their funds’ assumptions on asset allocation.

  • News

    Czech funds see fresh growth in 2009

    2009-08-17T15:15:00Z

    CZECH REPUBLIC – The 10 pension funds of the Czech third pillar returned an average of 3.1% in the first half of 2009.

  • News

    Merger to create new fund for Swiss canton Valais

    2009-08-14T14:22:00Z

    SWITZERLAND – The Swiss canton of Valais is finalising a merger between its two public pension funds, to increase the funding level and eventually change from a DB to a DC scheme.

  • News

    Crisis might speed up Bulgarian reform – CFO interview

    2009-08-14T13:31:00Z

    BULGARIA – The financial crisis could boost plans to introduce a life-cycle model to the Bulgarian pension system, Miroslav Marinov, CFO of the pension fund management company Doverie, has told IPE.

  • News

    Czech Allianz fund grows assets to €283m

    2009-08-13T14:50:00Z

    CZECH REPUBLIC – The Czech third pillar fund of Allianz posted an increase in members, assets under management and profit for the first half of 2009.

  • News

    Basel fund proposes contribution hike for 19 years

    2009-08-13T12:25:00Z

    SWITZERLAND – The government of the Swiss canton of Basel City has refined recovery plans for the civil servants fund PKBS, which will include a one-off payment of CHF 1.12bn (€730m).

  • News

    Polish second pillar in need of 'fine tuning' – KNF

    2009-08-12T13:42:00Z

    POLAND – The Polish supervisory authority KNF sees three major challenges for a reform of the Polish second pillar, including lower risk profiles and capital requirements.

  • News

    German public funds improve risk management

    2009-08-12T12:02:00Z

    GERMANY – German public pension funds have followed industry practice in adopting enhanced risk management provisions, even though they are not legally required to.

  • News

    Only small German minority to gain decent pension - research

    2009-08-11T15:10:00Z

    [16:10 CEST 11-08] GERMANY – Just under 19% of Germans are building benefits in an occupational pension scheme and nearly 30% have a “Riester-Rente”. But only half will find this will be sufficient to uphold their current living standards, suggests research.

  • News

    Unilever joins Austrian ÖPAG

    2009-08-10T16:25:00Z

    [17:25 CEST 10-08] AUSTRIA – The Austrian branch of international company Unilever is outsourcing its pensionskasse to the multi-employer fund ÖPAG.

  • News

    IMF warns Swiss guarantee is at risk

    2009-08-07T12:30:00Z

    [13:30 CEST 07-08] SWITZERLAND – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) doubts Swiss life insurances have enough buffers to continue guaranteeing a 4% annual interest rate on pension funds.

  • News

    Czechs given open pensions choice

    2009-08-06T15:45:00Z

    CZECH REPUBLIC – Employees in the Czech Republic are being given more free choice over their pension provider in the latest reforms, but switching pension funds will be no longer free for all.

  • News

    Sticking to strategic allocations caused problems - IQAM

    2009-08-05T15:00:00Z

    [16:00 CEST 05-08] AUSTRIA – Austrian pension funds should not have stuck to strategic asset allocations as widely used risk controls could not have worked last year, accordng to Helmuth Frey, head of quantitative management house IQAM.

  • BPK recovery goes back to drawing board
    News

    BPK recovery goes back to drawing board

    2009-08-04T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 04-08] SWITZERLAND – The canton of Bern has rejected proposals for an increase in contributions to the Bernische pensionskasse (BPK).

  • Swiss funds see first gain since 2007 - State Street
    News

    Swiss funds see first gain since 2007 - State Street

    2009-08-03T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CEST 03-08] SWITZERLAND – Swiss pensionskassen generated a 5.61% gain during the second quarter of this year, suggests data produced by State Street - the first positive return to be seen for two years.

  • News

    Third pillar growth unbroken by crisis

    2009-07-31T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CEST 31-07] GERMANY/AUSTRIA – Interest in third pillar savings funds has remained high even through the financial crisis, according to both the German investment association BVI and the Austrian regulator FMA.

  • German employers predict little second pillar growth
    News

    German employers predict little second pillar growth

    2009-07-30T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CEST 30-07] GERMANY – German companies are convinced that interest in occupational pensions among their employees will not grow, according to a recent poll.