EU: Pensions and Investment News and Analysis
Latest news and analysis of pensions, asset management, regulation and trends in the European Union from our award-winning journalists.
Skandia stows $100m in Dutch-backed sustainability blended-finance fund
Swedish pensions firm praises ‘innovative’ structure of SDG Loan Fund for easing flow of institutional money to developing countries
Concerns grow over fate of EU sustainability due diligence law
One of the biggest battlegrounds for the CSDDD is proving to be the inclusion of the finance sector
EIOPA chair pushes for action on pension dashboard, auto-enrolment, PEPP
Petra Hielkema reveals frustration that European Commission has not taken further action on a pensions dashboard
Is the US finally heading for a soft landing?
Having come to terms with the higher-for-longer mantra, markets are grappling with ‘higher-for-even-longer’, as US economic resilience continues to challenge expectations of weakness while reducing the prospects for earlier interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
Varma picks Ortec for performance management software
Finnish pensions heavyweight says Ortec product gives better understanding of sources of value
Plenty left for EU sustainable finance policy to tackle
European policymakers have gone full throttle on sustainable finance over the past five years. Do they have the wherewithal to finish the job?
What should EU investors do if the Republicans win the White House?
Sustainability-minded investors should wake up to the challenge of right-wing populism and its threat to climate policy
Swedes see refund from dropped Russian, East European premium pension funds
Pensions agency announces further SEK247m refund from Barings, East Capital and Nordea funds – deregistered after Ukraine invasion – to first-pillar pension savers
Ireland’s new €100bn SWF is no ‘rainy-day fund’, says McGrath
Budget plans include two sovereign wealth funds, with largest designed to cover known future costs
ESMA study fails to find a systematic greenium for sustainable bonds
EU supervisory body researchers say willingness to accept lower returns for ESG is limited
Research: Pension funds stabilise EU financial markets in good times and bad
A recent study investigated the potential stabilising role of pension funds in financial markets in the European Union from 2001 to 2017
Active ETFs power ahead
While active managers are out of favour, their strategies embedded in an exchange traded fund package are gaining traction. In fact, they are outpacing passive ETFs as investors look for liquidity and robust risk-adjusted returns with a relatively low price tag.
AkademikerPension sees positive return impact after shedding last oil/gas major
Danish occupational pension fund divests Italy’s Eni, excluding last large upstream oil and gas company in its portfolio
AP2 helps German think tank develop portfolio tool to assess deforestation risk
In work funded by Californian philanthropists, Swedish national pensions buffer fund says publicly-accessible workflow will be tested on AP2’s listed equities
Rethinking net-zero equities benchmarks
The EU developed rules for climate benchmarks in 2019. After a surge in uptake, investor sentiment is already cooling
Europe escaped the Great Retirement Boom but watch out for the crunch
Continental Europe appears to have largely escaped the trend known in the US as the ‘Great Retirement Boom’, where an economically comfortable cohort of 50 to 64-year-olds has retreated from work in the post-COVID period.
Ilmarinen posts 3.7% H1 return; CEO urges solvency framework reshape
Listed equities form backbone of investment gain while property returns hover around zero
Discerning investor sentiment: this year’s proxy season
Every annual general meeting (AGM) season has traditionally brought with it a few symbolic moments – events that serve as broader indicators of the market’s mood when it comes to environmental and social issues.
EIOPA says national supervisors need more data on liquidity risks
European pension funds, insurers holding up well despite higher stability risks, says latest risk report from EU pension and insurance watchdog
Ilmarinen anchors new Amundi climate-focused Europe ETF with €580m
Finnish pensions major edges closer to having all its passive equities tracking MSCI’s Climate Action indices
Special Report – Outlook: Europe and the world
Inflation may be losing momentum, thanks to vigorous central bank action, but with a recession on the horizon, it is hard to tell whether the next few months and years will see markets turn around and risk assets begin to perform again. For the time being, CIOs argue for selectivity in stock selection and generally agree that bonds have resumed their diversification role. The main article in our Outlook report features the views of influential CIOs and strategists on asset allocation for the next few years.
Outlook – Europe and the world: US overtakes Europe in clean-energy production
Incentives package for US-based clean energy investments is seen by some as a threat to Europe’s industrial competitiveness
Outlook – Europe and the world: UK launches its own approach to green investment
The focus is on financial regulation rather than economic policy to drive decarbonisation
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