Columns – Page 8
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FeaturesLong term matters: A time to be hopeful and active?
Jaap van Dam, principal director of investment strategy at PGGM, is right: pension funds need to understand politics. We have two additions. First, the ‘outside-in’ focus – how politics affects portfolios – is a great starting point. But investors cannot stop there, they have considerable influence on politics whether for good or bad.
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Features
Guest viewpoint: Sir Ronald Cohen
We are on the threshold of another major shift in institutional portfolios. Impact transparency is changing the rules for both investors and businesses.
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Opinion Pieces
There is such thing as a (fossil) free lunch
A major historical fear has been that very strict exclusion or integration policies can lead to significant changes in the risk-return profile of portfolios
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: The tipping point for UK pension schemes
Schemes need to consider how to get to a secure level of funding, but also, the assets they will need to hold when they reach peak cashflows in order to remain fully funded
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Why Europe needs a real pan-European occupational vehicle
The revision to the Directive, known as IORP II, did not really facilitate cross-border activities. On the contrary, it seems that some EU member states have taken the implementation of the Directive as an opportunity to further complicate cross-border activities.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Mastering human rights risks – Why asset managers should act now
Sustainable investing has been a hot topic among investors for some time, with a particular focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, ESG stocks and assets have outperformed the market. While the ’S’ has often been overlooked, recent trends are fuelling attention on the cornerstone ...
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Opinion Pieces
The looming trust deficit
Once again, European pension systems – notably those of the Netherlands and Denmark – have scored most highly in this year’s Mercer CFA Pension Index. These successes are no accident, and among the key ingredients is years of pragmatic and consensual policy making.
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Opinion Pieces
COVID is not everything
For understandable reasons it has become commonplace to talk about the immense damage done by COVID-19. This probably makes sense as a kind of shorthand. However, careful reflection on the painful experience of recent months should show it is a one-sided way of understanding the pandemic’s devastating impact.
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Opinion Pieces
Talking to strangers
In his recent book, Malcolm Gladwell discusses how people’s natural lack of ability to detect lies can lead to unpleasant consequences.
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Opinion Pieces
Can superfunds be the silver bullet for DB woes?
Consolidation as a means of achieving better outcomes for pension schemes is a growing trend. This was highlighted in the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) 2018 White Paper on protecting defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.
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Features
Guest Viewpoint: Five reasons to invest in pensions technology
The world has changed exponentially in 2020, leading many multinationals to ask valid questions about how they can enhance their global operations.
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Templates are only a staging post on the cost transparency journey
Cost templates are an important step, but there is much more distance for investors to travel
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Stirring the pot - government review should open VC for pension funds
DC pension review: why there should be an opening for venture capital investment
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: The People’s Pension - Global lessons on member outcomes
Big is really very beautiful when it comes to pensions
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Opinion Pieces
Nasty problems can be overcome
The Nobel laureate Bill Sharpe once called defined contribution (DC) decumulation the “nastiest, hardest problem in finance”.
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Opinion Pieces
Mind the reality gap
The past few months have brought huge discrepancies between the financial markets and the economy.
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Opinion Pieces
Pension funds should reflect on their true purpose
With COVID-19 infection rates rising across Europe it seems clear that lockdowns are not over yet. Europe will suffer economically as well as socially and politically.
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Opinion Pieces
No need to panic
The global economic discussion has focused on assessing what damage COVID-19-related lockdowns have caused, and more recently on questioning the speed and strength of the recovery.
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Features
Long term matters: Addressing autocratic risk
In an email interview, economist and MacArthur ‘Genius’ Fellow, Emmanuel Saez, confirmed what many investment insiders know: “Markets are notoriously bad at anticipating catastrophes.”
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Features
Guest ViewPoint: Peter Laurelli, eVestment
Comparing asset management fees across firms, strategies and regions is not a simple task. There are frequently differences, sometimes large, in what asset managers state they charge in their marketing materials, and the fees they actually negotiate during due diligence and selection processes.
