All IPE articles in December 2002 (Magazine) – Page 3
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Features
Why sector shifts start to dominate
The past two years of dull market performance have made investors increasingly focus on a number of key issues that most impact portfolio diversification. Although one clear trend has been to minimise benchmark risk, the other area that has grown significantly has been the use of sector allocation as a ...
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Features
VPK diversifies strategies and managers for outperformance
Established in 1990, the Vereinigte Pensionskasse AG (VPK) is the largest general pension fund in Austria. The running contributions increased to e106m in 2001. In March 2001 the VPK commenced the formulation of a new equity holding concept. Two central themes dominated this formulation, namely strategy diversification and manager diversification. ...
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Features
Determination to show Europe what group can provide
Innovation “with new investment vehicles” is how one judge summed up his view of France’s PRO-BTP Finance. This thriving operator has long benefited domestically from a good reputation reinforced by various awards from French organisations but the IPE Award for investment strategy may allow the company to exploit markets beyond ...
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Features
Sign of distinction for strategies designed to meet goals
What the judges said: “The sophisticated financial, legal and economic unbundling of commercial real estate cash income streams as a means to protect the indexed portion of the defined benefit plan’s liabilities is assumed to reduce the overall risks of a mismatch between liabilities and assets. It has merit for ...
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Features
Nestlé optimises plan design to fit new opportunities
The beneficiaries of the Nestlé pension plan pay a fixed contribution of 2% of their respective salaries into the Nestlé Pensionskasse (NPK). In return they receive the benefit of participation in the Nestlé Versorgungkasse’s (NVK) defined benefit (DB) plan. The Nestlé Rückdeckungskasse (NRK) is a support fund, which serves the ...
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Features
Denmark switches lanes
It’s hard to avoid the traffic lights in Denmark these days. When the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA) introduced its two new colour-coded stress tests to assess the financial strength of life insurers and pensions institutions, Danish pension funds suddenly found themselves slamming the brakes on a steadily rising exposure ...
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Features
Double win for fund provides delight and welcome motivation
When Vienna based Verienigte Pensionskasse (VPK), Austria’s largest multi-employer pension fund, heard the news that it had won the IPE Award for both fund administration and investment strategy, the initial reaction was one of surprise. “That’s not to say that we weren’t delighted or we felt it was undeserved,” says ...
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Features
ESB's DC redesign enhances flexibility
The E6m ESB Subsidiary Companies Pension Scheme provides retirement benefits and protection in the event of death for employees of subsidiary companies of the Electricity Supply Board. A separate scheme provides benefits in the event of prolonged disability. The schemes were set up in 1991 to provide for the employees ...
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Features
PGGM integrates DC into main scheme
The €47bn PGGM scheme is a compulsory pension arrangement for the 950,000 or so employees in the Dutch healthcare and social work sector. Until May this year, the pension scheme was entirely defined benefit (DB) in orientation. This changed with the introduction of the PGGM Extra Pension, which provides a ...
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Features
Rapid response to Swissair crisis
Within hours of the collapse of Swissair last October, the powers-that-be at the group’s various pension schemes, worth collectively SFr11bn (e7.5bn) at the time, decided to take action to protect its assets and members. Before the funds could be dragged down with the bankruptcy proceedings and see their assets exposed ...
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Features
Responding to courage and vision
Courage and vision are the two key attributes that the management of Pension Fund Services (PFS), the pension fund company created by the boards of the three main pension schemes in the Swissair group following the latter’s demise last year, believes convinced the judges to give PFS the IPE Award ...
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Features
Controlling your investment and other costs
Low management fees are not necessarily the best management fees, believe senior managers at some of Europe’s top pension funds. Addressing pension market professionals at the second seminar at the IPE Awards, the panel of five gave their opinions on how to control investment and other costs. The panel comprised ...
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Features
Public recognition for 'massive contribution' to funding
The strategy of the fund, clearly impressed the judges. The process of review is well defined and seems to be performing, says one. “Very clear logical processes,” says another. At the fund, the news of the award was warmly welcomed by group chief pensions manager Frank Flynn: “The trustees and ...
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Features
Why LPFA is contrarian
As one of the largest providers of the Local Government Pensions Scheme (LGPS) in the UK, the LPFA fund provides defined benefit (DB) pensions for the employees of over 220 organisations in the non-profit sector, as well as delivering administration services to eight London boroughs amongst other organisations – giving ...
