Swiss central bank: sticking with negative rates ‘in pension funds’ interest’
Chair of governing board also rules out giving pension funds some of its profits
Swiss corporate pensions slide into red for first time in two years
Coverage ratio down by four percentage points in third quarter, consultancy reports [updated]
Cash flows in Swiss pension fund market to turn negative in 2043 – report
Liquidity requirements could increase for some pension funds, according to Credit Suisse economists
Swiss banking group REYL sets up impact investing affiliate
Asteria Investment Managers created ‘from scratch’ to offer institutional investors wide range of impact investing products and strategies
Zurich cantonal pension fund targets responsible investment leadership
BVK, the CHF33bn (€29.5bn) pension fund for the canton of Zurich, has taken on a company engagement case within Climate Action 100+
Mandate roundup: Compenswiss targets $500m for EMD local currency
Swiss pension investor wants an actively managed fund for an emerging market debt investment, while Luxembourg’s pension reserve fund has tendered three passive mandates worth €5bn
Swiss pension bodies ‘increasingly concerned’ about negative rates
Switzerland’s pension fund association and others have appealed to politicians for action after the central bank kept its policy rate at -0.75%
Chart of the Week: The best place in the world to retire is...
… Iceland, which narrowly beat Switzerland, according to Natixis Investment Managers’ annual Global Retirement Index
Swiss pension funds’ alternatives allocation hits double digits [updated]
Complementa study also finds that pension funds will have to cut benefits to close the gap between required returns and forecast returns
Swiss pension funds facing negative discount rates
Company pension schemes may need to use negative rates to discount liabilities – mean obligations could rise by around 15%
Managing director of largest Swiss pension fund to step down
Dieter Stohler gave notice he would be leaving the CHF40bn public pension fund at the end of September next year, after almost nine years at the helm
Swiss high earner pension plan providers expect significant growth
Surveyed providers of 1e plans expect assets under management to grow from CHF3.8bn to CHF12.7bn over the next five years
Swiss minimum interest recommendation disappoints pension funds
Multi-stakeholder expert body recommends government set minimum accrual rate at 1%, 50 basis points higher than the level called for by Asip
Swiss municipal pension schemes face funding shortfalls: analysis
Pension fund for city of Lucerne has funding in excess of 100%, while Lausanne’s coverage ratio was 64.2% in 2018, according to Avenir Suisse analysis
Insurer seeks ‘evergreen’ private equity, infra funds via IPE Quest [updated]
A total of $80m is up for grabs in two separate tenders being conducted by a Swiss consultant
ABN Amro scheme expects ‘limited effects’ from Brexit
The €29bn pension fund sees market volatility, declining sterling and the ability to settle transactions as big risks, and has analysed suppliers’ ability to continue through multiple Brexit scenarios
Swiss investor hunts for private equity manager via IPE Quest
The unnamed pension fund is seeking bottom-up managers for a $5m-$10m mandate, while two more mandate searches are closing this week
Switzerland: Online lending
The popularity of crowdlending is rising, but will it challenge the mainstream?
Asset Allocation: Alternatives key to raise returns
Pension funds are increasing their allocations to alternative and illiquid assets in a bid to boost flagging returns
Reform agenda
New reforms to the first and second-pillar are due to be debated in parliament next year and implemented by 2022
Returns: Do large pension funds achieve better results?
Smaller pension funds do not necessarily have lower returns, according to PPCmetrics
Discount rates: Stranger things
Negative interest rates are making Swiss pension funds more expensive
Switzerland: In need of a reformist zeal
The Swiss pension system needs reform but consent is needed in a federal referendum. Have politicians learnt from campaigning during the rejected Altervorsorge 2020 proposals?
Werner Hug: Less complexity, more solidarity
The Swiss second pillar has become too complex and lost sight of its original principle of employer patronage towards employees
Asset Management: Fit for purpose
The globalisation of asset management means that Swiss managers have to broaden their product range and service different regulatory regimes
ESG: Still the ugly duckling
ESG is still an unpopular investment strategy in Switzerland. How will it overcome this lack of enthusiasm?
Risk Management: Is everything still good?
Swiss pension funds have coped well with the financial crisis, but appearances can be deceptive
Illiquid Investments: Challenges ahead
Illiquid investments should appeal to pension funds because of their long-term benefits, but are opportunities equal?
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Brussels People: Europe’s conservatives eye Africa
Describing himself as “the most senior elected Brit in Brussels” and speaking ahead of 29 March when he and the UK’s 72 other MEPs were set to relinquish their mandate in the European Parliament, Syed Kamall is keen to speak about matters other than Europe.
Firebrand targets supervision
One of the knottier issues in Brussels at the moment is the future of the European supervisory authorities
Banking on life after politics
At 49, Brian Hayes is young man by political standards. Having started in Irish politics early with his appointment to the Irish Senate in the mid 1990s, Hayes was elected to the Dáil, the lower house, before he was 30, taking a seat for the Fine Gail party.
Brussels People – Lieve Wierinck: Building on Europe’s scientific base
Lieve Wierinck’s main political passion is ensuring the EU takes full practical advantage of Europe’s excellent scientific base
Brussels People: Sven Giegold, MEP
While he derives some satisfaction from advances in green energy and the like, Sven Giegold is unhappy that most global investment can still be classed as environmentally unsustainable.
Letter from Brussels: Brussels seeks to bolster secondary market in non-performing loans
Are non-peforming loans an investor’s dream come true? Or do they represent immeasurable risks?
Letter from Brussels: Focus on pension products and supervision ahead of elections
Tensions are rising in Brussels as the EU institutional mandate approaches its end ahead of the Parliamentary elections in May 2019, and the Commission has already ceased issuing new proposals in the absence of legislative time.
Letter From Brussels: CMU urgency mounts
The race is on to complete the EU’s flagship Capital Markets Union project before the mandates of the Commission and Parliament elapse next year
Letter from Brussels: Campaign to boost pan-EU distribution of UCITS and AIFs
Another step by Brussels to ease financing to business across the EU comes with measures to facilitate the cross-border distribution of investment funds
Letter from Brussels: Who cares about our €3.5trn?
PensionsEurope is concerned about a Brexit ‘no deal’ and is calling for negotiators to pay heed to the €3.54trn sector’s interests
Letter From Brussels: Corporate tax reform in view
Radical upgrades to the EU’s corporate tax base norms have never been so close to fruition
Letter From Brussels: Default guarantee option dominates debate on PEPP
Europe’s asset management industry is lobbying against any mandatory guaranteed default option in the third-pillar PEPP proposal
Letter From Brussels: Brexit focus moves to pensions
As the risk of a no-deal Brexit comes into focus, attention is turning to ways to mitigate the damage across financial services, including asset management and pensions
Letter from Brussels: Easier securitisation on the horizon
The EU’s securitisation package has finally passed through the European Parliament and Council. However, the new rules will not be applied until January 2019
Letter from Brussels: Opposition to mission creep
The EU’s controversial mandate for a radical shake up of financial supervision has received a cool reception from the pensions sector as well as smaller EU members
Letter From Brussels: Court for international investor disputes on the horizon
International investors in the EU have for decades been suffering from woeful dispute settlement proceedings when involved in cases against public authorities
Letter From Brussels: Pension rights for posted workers
Discussions over the payment of social costs for workers from central and eastern European countries posted temporarily to wealthier EU countries are playing a major role in the attempt to update existing directives
Letter from Brussels: Tax threatens PEPP proposal
At first sight, the benefits of the European Commission’s Pan European Personal Pension (PEPP) regulation proposal seem clear. But it did not take long for commentators to point out the considerable hurdles
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