All Features articles – Page 101
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Features
I know it when I see it
In 1964, Justice Potter Stewart, weighing in on the possible obscenity of the film Les Amants, wrote: “I shall not attempt to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description ‘hard-core pornography’. But I know it when I see it.”
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Features
Insurance inspiration
Building an internal model under Solvency II costs time and money. Cécile Sourbes asks what pension funds can learn as insurers edge towards implementing the new framework
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Features
Shaking up high yield
Considering the trend to combine loans and high-yield bonds in the same products, Martin Steward finds the sub-investment grade landscape changing and new opportunities becoming apparent – especially in senior secured
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FeaturesHBS: room for improvement
The concept of a holistic balance sheet is intellectually tempting but could be improved and it is still unclear whether it will be workable in practice, argue Jurre de Haan, Karin Janssen and Eduard Ponds
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Features
German re-engineering
Iain Morse reviews Germany’s custody market as it experiences externally-driven transformation
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Features
Generational imbalances
Nowadays, it is much harder to define the broad interest groups that are representative of a country as a whole. Previous decades were notable for the division between capital and labour, which persists in the consensual political and decision-making models of continental Europe. But tripartite decision-making between employers, unions and government now seems rather antiquated as membership of organised labour groups has declined over the past 20-30 years and western economies have deindustrialised.
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Features
Falling Irish yields scupper pension relief
Ahead of Ireland’s successful, if timid, re-entry into the bond market in July, some within the pensions industry expressed concerns that the government was seeking to ‘incentivise’ investment in Irish debt through the new funding regime for defined benefit schemes.
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Features
An equity substitute
David Newman argues that equities have a similar credit profile to high-yield bonds but offer less protection, worse returns and higher volatility. Add in low correlation, and there is a strong case for replacing some equity exposure with high yield
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Features
Dutch pension system knocked off its perch
The Netherlands, after leading the Melbourne Mercer Global Pensions Index for three years in a row, has been dethroned by Denmark – a new entry and the first country to ever claim the top grade.
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FeaturesVolatility regimes and risk drivers
Using factor model to break down two similar-looking periods of declining implied volatility in Europe and the US, Rachael Smith uncovers surprising differences in the actual sources of risk
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Features
Denmark: not one to rest on its laurels
The Danish pension system is the envy of many developed countries. Ranked as the world’s best by Melbourne Mercer, the system also won plaudits from the OECD in September for being home to the best-performing pension funds. But far from resting on their laurels, politicians, regulators and the funds are constantly trying to improve.
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Features
Diary of an Investor: A tale of two cities
Last week we visited the offices of two asset managers for finals for a European equities mandate. The experiences were instructive.
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Features
Institutions suited to bridge the lending gap
Infrastructure as an asset class is at a crossroads. While European banks traditionally provided debt to infrastructure projects pre-2008, the financial crisis and new regulation requiring banks to hold larger amounts of capital have changed the rules.
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Features
In your own back yard
Gail Moss looks at how a number of regional pension funds are investing in their own localities
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Features
Adapt now or fall by the wayside
Aymeric Poizot argues that to stay competitive, asset managers must act swiftly to re-shape their activities to deal with new challenges being thrown up by rapidly changing market conditions
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Features
Pensions Accounting: Some good IAS19 news
And the good news is praise for IAS19. As an antidote to the usual depressive outlook of this column, this month we have 800 words about what IAS19 does well.
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Features
LGPS could boost infrastructure by up to 15%
UK local authority funds could soon see investment regulations loosened, allowing a further £20bn (€25bn) in assets to be allocated to infrastructure, according to the department for communities and local government (DCLG).
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Features
Factoring ESG issues
Respondents to this month’s Off The Record survey highlighted various issues they felt to be their main responsibility as a fiduciary. A UK fund stated: “The fiduciary duty of a pension fund is to pay the pension promise to its members. Where ESG issues have the potential to impact the ...
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Features
New twist in Dutch pension reform
On 24 September, the long, drawn-out process of Dutch pension reform took a new turn when state secretary for social affairs and labour Paul de Krom unveiled the so-called ‘September package’, a comprehensive set of new rules for pension funds. The package seeks to flesh out labour minister Henk Kamp’s ...
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Features
Voluntary reform?
Last month the Dutch caretaker government introduced a new set of rules for pension funds designed to avert dramatic benefit cuts and contribution hikes. The so-called ‘September package’ represents a typical Dutch compromise – it offers something for everyone, everything for no-one, and nothing for free.
