All Country Reports articles – Page 21
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Country Report
UK: Spot the difference
Mel Duffield notes a positive reaction to TPR’s 2013 Funding Statement, but argues that it remains to be seen what approach the regulator will adopt in practice
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The Netherlands: Decision time
Cabinet endorsement of the new FTK proposals means Dutch pension funds must soon choose between a nominal or a real pension framework. But some are holding out for a hybrid option, writes Nina Roehrbein
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UK: The DC information gap
The growing significance of defined contribution pensions means trustees should be prepared to serve members with better information on retirement income options, writes Ros Altman
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UK: Divorce can be costly
Ian Fraser finds that Scottish independence would create a host of complications for newly created cross-border pension funds. But neither the London nor Edinburgh governments seem willing to engage with the issues
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UK: Filling the contract-based governance vacuum
Phil Duly surveys the issues surrounding DC pension governance
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The Netherlands: A complex improvement
Pension experts think that the new Dutch pension governance legislation is complicated. But on balance they agree that it will significantly improve the representation of all stakeholders, according to Leen Preesman
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UK: Buy now – spread the premium
David Barker reviews deferred premium buyouts, a development in the insurance market that allows employers to spread the cost of a buyout
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Country ReportThe Netherlands: Little difference between the two
While they may seem to offer better inflation-proof pension benefits, careful analysis shows that real contracts offer little more protection than nominal ones, argue Kees Bouwman, Theo Kocken and Bart Oldenkamp
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The Netherlands: Nominal or real? Or best of both?
Michel Iglesias del Sol and Gerard Roelofs assess the wider implications of FTK2
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Italy: Still waiting
Nina Roehrbein notes potential interest in emerging markets and declining exposure to domestic government debt among Italy’s occupational pension funds
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Italy: Three sparks needed to ignite the Italian pensions market
State Street Global Advisor (SSGA) is one of the leading Italian institutional asset managers, managing €10bn of domestic institutional investors’ funds as of June 2013. It holds 13 mandates from closed pension schemes such as Cometa and Fonchim and 15 mandates from casse di previdenza, a sector where the Milan-based asset manager is the undisputed leader, giving the firm a broad view of the Italian institutional investment market. Marco Fusco, SSGA’s head of southern Europe outlined the three sparks he believes are needed to ignite the Italian market.
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Italy: COVIP weathers the storms of Italian politics
Covip annual statement: In 2013 membership of private pension schemes increases, albeit slowly, at 5.3% adding 290,000 more members to the total 5.8m. Funds have grown between 8% and 9% in 2012, compared to 2.9% growth of the trattamento di fine rapporto.
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Italy: Compulsory membership and education are key to improving pension system
Francesco Vallacqua is a research fellow of Center for Applied Research and Finance (CAREFIN) at Bocconi University of Milan. He has held positions as a consultant to governmental institutions and pension schemes, such as at Cometa, the fund for mechanical engineering industry workers, and is currently a board member of Espero, the teaching professionals’ fund.
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Country Report
Italy: The recovery starts at home for Cometa as it seeks to stabilise its membership
At Cometa, the €7.3bn scheme for workers employed by the metal and mechanical engineering industries, the membership issue is more urgent. The scheme has about 427,000 members, less than half the one million potential members in the sector. The figure is unlikely to rise significantly in 2013 because of the condition of the sector, where factories are closing or laying off workers. So the scheme is focusing on keeping its current members.
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Country Report
Italy: Economic reality bites hard
Job losses and a tough economic environment are forcing pension funds Fonchim and Cometa to review and restructure their investment objectives, writes Carlo Svaluto Moreolo In testing times for the Italian job market, two of the country’s largest pension schemes, Fonchim and Cometa, are gradually adjusting their investment strategies to ...
