ESG roundup: NZ Super, Erste, Trucost
Also: Austrian manager excludes carmakers; Trucost launches carbon priving tool
Discount rates boost German pension funding levels
Willis Towers Watson calculates better funding rate but urges reviews of current plans
DACH roundup: Austrian energy company sells pension fund
Even fewer company-operated Pensionskassen remain in Austria
Coast clear for first German pure DC plans from 2018
Major pensions legislation will become effective after being passed by Bundesrat
German insurance-based pension funds sceptical about BRSG
Only a quarter believe introducing DC to Germany will provide opportunities for their businesses
Joseph Mariathasan: The changing face of emerging markets
Extreme political risk is usually seen as a characteristic of emerging markets rather than developed
Interview: Andreas Kretschmer, former CEO of Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe
When Andreas Kretschmer was recruited to the pension fund for doctors in the German province of Westfalen-Lippe (ÄVWL) in 1992, he did not know much about pensions. But that was the whole point
Time to start thinking about interest rate rises: Aegon
Expected increase will cause ‘considerable damage’ to portfolios of euro-denominated government bonds
ESG roundup: Publica, North Rhine-Westphalia, AP2
Swiss and German funds take action to divest from companies; AP2 backs Dutch housing bond
80% of German institutions 'have no exposure to alternatives'
Illiquidity, regulation, and costs all cited as hurdles to diversification, according to survey of Spezialfonds investors
Institutional investors expect ‘lower forever’ bond yields
Yields will remain low – but even a small upturn can hurt institutions, conference hears
German and Swiss investors diverge on alternatives strategies
Diversification of alternatives portfolios is important, but not always possible, conference hears
DB 'can still play a role for years to come' despite rise of DC
Debate covers future of DB, DC, and hybrid plans in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands at conference in Vienna
German pension law passes despite Green party opposition
Betriebsrentenstärkungsgesetz to take effect from 2018; new insurance platform launched
German investors warm to ESG, but barriers remain
Union Investment survey shows increased use of sustainable investment strategies
German pension reform back on track after coalition agreement
Reform will include ban on guarantees for any new defined contribution plans
German regulator to hold Brexit workshop for UK asset managers
Workshop aimed at UK-based managers thinking about relocating to Germany
Eight Pensionskassen fail German regulator’s stress test
Vast majority of supervised Pensionkassen considered to have sufficient ‘risk-bearing capacity’
German minister optimistic despite pension reform headwinds
Draft pension reform law is encountering headwinds on the home straight
ESG integration helps returns, volatility: State Street survey
80% of institutional investors were satisfied or very satisfied with returns from ESG-tilted allocations
Pensions In Germany: Draft law under discussion
Germany’s discussion on new pension vehicles without guarantees has revealed a much deeper challenge with promises, disappointments and misunderstandings, finds Barbara Ottawa
Aba: DC and auto-enrolment, German style
Verena Menne and Klaus Stiefermann outline concerns about planned reforms to introduce defined contribution pensions to Germany
A long-awaited reform: Allianz Global Investors
The reform to introduce pure defined contribution plans is a huge opportunity. But if it does not succeed it may mark the beginning of mandatory corporate pensions
Asset Allocation: Uncertainty focuses minds
German pension investors continue to diversify their assets against a backdrop of political uncertainty, writes Rachel Fixsen
Asset Allocation: Investors embrace change
The latest Willis Towers Watson risk-management study reveals the ongoing challenge that German pension funds face in meeting their liabilities
Regulation: Costs not caps
New rules for BaFin-regulated institutional investors in Germany might appear cap-free, but costs could restrict movement, according to Barbara Ottawa
Digital Edition
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Letter from Brussels: Reboot for Capital Markets Union
The European Commission’s “further steps to drive forward the Capital Markets Union (CMU)” outline nine new priority legislative actions to solve the EU’s long-term cross-border investment challenge
Letter from Brussels: EU seeks to avert Brexit arbitrage
Strong words on Brexit are flying in political circles. But behind the theatre, concerns about the future of London’s fund management sector are emerging
Letter from Brussels: A warm reception for PEPP
In contrast to complaints that Brussels’s legislation burdens the financial sector, the European Commission may be gratified by the positive response to its flagship Capital Markets Union (CMU) programme.
Letter from Brussels: Brexit and equivalence
Nothing could be clearer. For the financial sector, at least, there is nothing to fear from Brexit. All the UK has to do is to apply to the EU’s rules – the crucial term ‘equivalence’
Letter from Brussels: Resaver’s first stage kicks off
The European Commission’s project to set up a pension scheme for research and development professionals whose careers take them across EU borders has finally reached its first stages of operation.
Letter from Brussels: Unclear on clearance
The prolongation for 18 months of pension funds’ exemption from posting collateral when trading over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives is leading PensionsEurope to seek clarification.
Letter from Brussels: EU focus on tax tricks
There is increasing attention in Brussels on company reporting, taxation and offshore financial centres. The G20 and some OECD countries have demanded country-by-country reporting rules for multinational companies with a turnover over €750m
Letter from Brussels: Pan-EU private schemes for 2017?
Legislation proposing pan-EU personal pension products (PEPPs) could be tabled in 2017, according to the European Commission
Letter from Brussels: A vision for cross-border workers
A former director of the European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) has proposed a new option for occupational pensions that could help the large number of workers whose careers take them across EU internal borders.
Letter from Brussels: Weighty in-tray for new CMU commissioner
Valdis Dombrovskis has assumed responsibility as commissioner in charge of the flagship Capital Markets Union project. But he has also assumed the added complication of the withdrawal of the UK
Letter from Brussels: Posted worker woes
It will not be the first time that proposed revisions to EU rules affecting finance and pensions get stuck in a logjam between interests groups
Letter from Brussels: Tax targeting continues
Pressure to clean up the financial sector has led to copious legislation from Brussels.
Letter from Brussels: Ethical pressures mount
There are plenty of indicators of rising pressure to advance ethical standards across the financial sector. One outcome takes the form of mountains of clean-up legislation, including from Brussels.
Letter from Brussels: Beefing up the CMU
Inadequacy of European national court systems in the financial sphere is due for overhaul. Upgrade is necessary if the EU’s capital markets union programme (CMU) is going to get anywhere, according to a high-status paper
Letter from Brussels: Race to upgrade EFSI
Legislative moves to support the EU’s European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) are being rushed through Brussels. But, so far, evidence of any torrent of fund movement by the institutional investment sector across EU frontiers has yet to emerge.
Letter from Brussels: A simmering conflict
Conflict continues to simmer over the issue of passport rights for non-EU-domiciled hedge funds across the EU
Letter from Brussels: A lawyer’s feast
It is a case of tackling one challenge after another in the Capital Markets Union (CMU). According to the European Commission, the present morass of different national insolvency rules creates a barrier to the flow of capital across the EU.
Letter from Brussels: Cross-border challenge for IORP II
IORP II may have cleared the European Parliament’s committee stage but amendments tabled to the second directive covering occupational pensions since 2003 are so radical that it would be unwise to forecast its future.
Letter from Brussels: Focus on low returns
Dismally low returns on EU pension fund investments over 15 years? The allegation comes in a study by Better Finance, the European Federation of Investors & Financial Services Users. The report, Pensions Savings: The Real Return, points to excessive fees, points to other charges, and badly framed taxation rules, as the culprits.
Letter from Brussels: Pressure builds on tax havens
Brussels’ financial focus is on aggressive corporate tax planning and the related question of tax havens. This concerns the hedge fund ‘passport’ rights to do business across the EU and compliance of the offshore jurisdictions where they are domiciled to EU norms.