Columns
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Opinion PiecesCDC: finally off the starting blocks
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) last month approved the Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan as the first registered collective defined contribution (CDC) scheme in the UK
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Opinion Pieces
LDI lessons: be wary of future traps
After the global financial crisis of 2008-09, world leaders meeting at the Pittsburgh G20 summit mandated central clearing for derivatives. This was to allow for greater supervisory oversight and to mitigate against the unintended build-up of risks of the kind that almost toppled the financial system in the guise of over-the-counter credit default swaps.
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Opinion Pieces
Blame will not solve the issues raised by the LDI crisis
The chain of events that led to the UK’s liability-driven investment (LDI) crisis, a high-profile inquiry by the UK Parliament, and a time of anxiety and introspection in the country’s pension industry, started well before then prime minister Liz Truss’s government and its somewhat reckless ‘growth plan’.
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Opinion Pieces
Alecta’s crisis management
It can certainly hurt a pension provider when investments go badly, but an organisation’s next steps in response to disastrous losses are vital.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: A landmark moment for British pensions
What is it the British pension savers want, and until now have been denied in private sector pensions?
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Recent stock story is two steps forward, one step back
Consider everything investors have been through in recent years: a global pandemic, rapid inflation, war in Europe, volatile markets, and, in recent weeks, reminders of weaknesses in parts of the global banking system. It’s reasonable to feel uneasy in the face of so much uncertainty. Now imagine it’s the end ...
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Opinion Pieces
A farmer's revolution could upset pension reforms
The new populist Farmers’ Party (called BBB) won Dutch provincial elections in a historic landslide victory in March. Mainly attracting older voters in rural areas, the party rode a wave of public dissatisfaction about the government’s policies.
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Opinion Pieces
Emerging market investors should take the long view
For institutional investors, investing in emerging markets is a true test of fiduciary duty. The asset class – if it can be defined as such – has enormous potential, yet it is also risky, not just in terms of volatility but also of reputation.
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Opinion Pieces
Banking crisis delivers a lesson on equity strategy
We may never know the precise reasons why the in-house equity team of Alecta, the €105bn Swedish pension scheme, chose to invest in excess of €1bn in risky US banks including Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), much of which has now been written off.
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Opinion Pieces
Questions BP investors should ask themselves
A lot has happened in sustainable finance since the last AGM season: an energy crisis in Europe, an escalating legal campaign against ESG in the US, a credibility crisis for the world’s biggest net zero investment group, and ground-breaking political agreements to protect the planet’s natural resources and marine ecosystems.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Stewardship beyond the surface: not all engagement is created equal
Put simply, good engagement leads to better client outcomes over the long run – and the opposite also applies
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Can we use gender diversity to generate greater investment returns?
The effect of gender diversity on company performance has been well researched, but can it be used to identify the potential for better investment outcomes? Realindex conducted a new study to find out.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: The power of prioritisation
When you can’t decide on return and risk, you think of the window of light
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Opinion Pieces
Might Ukraine’s distressed assets one day look attractive to pension funds?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has tested Europe’s political and economic resolve. But where Vladimir Putin attempted to sow discord, he instead has failed to divide the West.
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Opinion Pieces
Germany's gamble with sweeping pension reforms
This is without a doubt an interesting time for pension reforms in Germany, given the inevitable associated risks of failure.
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Opinion Pieces
The cost of gender equality in pensions
The gender pension gap continues to be a significant issue in the European labour market, where women are at a disadvantage compared to men in terms of retirement income.
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Opinion Pieces
How to define natural capital and greenwashing
Last month, I wrote about recent challenges that have arisen from the terminology of sustainable finance – the legal and political consequences of the sometimes careless ways that terms like ESG, ethics, risks and impact have been interchanged depending on audience and public mood.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Progress managing climate risk means stops as well as sprints
A climate stocktake may feel like a delay – in fact, it is crucial to making progress
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: China - Reopening should drive growth
After a year of anaemic growth – by China’s standards – we expect a recovery in Chinese economic activity to gradually take place in 2023
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Clearing made easier and more resilient, but you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs
CCP clearing is highly concentrated in a few financial centres around the globe, with the City of London playing a very important role
