All articles by David White – Page 19
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Features
Questions of perspective
This month’s Off The Record considers two topics instead of the usual one. The first topic is the intention of some European governments to raise the statutory retirement age. In Germany the Rürup Commission has recommended raising the retirement age from 65 to 67, and there are similar proposals in ...
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Features
Pragmatic solutions
Companies in Luxembourg have, until recently, had little incentive to introduce supplementary pensions for their employees. The Grand Duchy has one the most generous state pensions in Europe, promising between 60% and 70% of final salary after 40 years’ contributions. This has meant that occupational pension plans in Luxembourg have ...
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News
UK to OK equal pension tax treatment – PEPGO
EUROPE - The UK is likely to be the next European Union member state to approve equal tax treatment of European pension plans, according to the Pan-European Pension Group, or PEPGO.
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News
Siemens sets up Luxembourg pension plan
LUXEMBOURG – German industrial group Siemens has launched an international pensions plan for its Luxembourg based employees.
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Features
Absolute rules
Chastened by the experience of a three-year bear market in equities, European pension funds are moving from away from traditional benchmarks and relative returns toward ‘liability-driven’ strategies and absolute returns. Certainly this is the picture that alternative asset managers, and some traditional asset managers, are painting. Mark Rosenberg, head of ...
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Features
Nestle stays ahead of the pack
The €4bn Nestlé pension fund in Switzerland has perhaps gone farthest down the road of any European pension fund in embracing alternative investment in the pursuit of absolute returns. Its current exposure of 15% of assets to hedge funds is probably the largest of any pension fund in the world. ...
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Features
Most thumbs are up for the directive
This month’s Off The Record looks at the European directive on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) – the pensions directive – and asks what has really been achieved? The directive, recently approved by the Council of Ministers (Ecofin), is a key element of the ...
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News
Austria relaxes second-pillar rules to bolster assets
AUSTRIA - The Austrian government has relaxed the rules governing the country’s second-pillar occupational pension plans in an attempt to strengthen their asset base.
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News
French asset managers up corporate governance stance, says AFG-ASFFI
Investment managers in France are showing more interest in voting at the annual meetings of companies they invest in, according to a survey by the French asset management associations AFG-ASFFI.
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News
Ruling expected on Irish pilots' DB/DC test case
Ireland - The Irish Pensions Board is expected to rule shortly whether the Irish Airlines (Pilots) Superannuation Scheme (IASS) is a defined benefit (DB) or defined contribution (DC) scheme.
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News
EU capital directive could prompt industry shakeout, says consultant
The European Union’s third Capital Adequacy Directive (CAD 3) will distort profitability among European asset managers and force them to improve their risk management processes, a UK consultant predicts.
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News
Active share ownership can produce outperformance - research finds
UK - The link between corporate governance and investment performance depends on active ownership, and companies with active shareholders will tend to outperform.
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News
UK government pushes ahead with pensions credit
UK - The UK government says its wants to encourage the maximum take up of the new pensions credit which replaces the minimum income guarantee (MIG) in October.
