All Features articles – Page 134
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Features
Down to nothing
US President Obama has assumed control of a US economy beset by severe economic woes. With companies going bust, factories closing, businesses retrenching, jobs being lost at an unprecedented rate, consumer spending dropping like a stone, house prices tumbling, and homes repossessed, Obama’s task is both monumental and unenviable. Such ...
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FeaturesEdgy on equities but eager for infrastructure
In many areas Norway has carved out its own distinct path. Kjetil Houg, finance director at Oslo Pensjonsforsikring, tells Nina Röhrbein how this has helped the country’s largest local authority pension scheme to navigate the market crisis
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FeaturesSigns of a year of eastern promise
Joseph Mariathasan looks at the economic conditions that have made investing in Asian, and particularly Chinese, private equity favourable
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Features
Hard times hit real economy
Yield curve/duration The world’s central banks have been cutting official rates worldwide. Special mention goes to the Bank of England (BoE) with an eye popping 150bps cut. This drastic move is seen by many as a clear acknowledgement that it has been slow to react and insufficiently proactive. Now there ...
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Features
Not an exact science
To begin at the beginning with actuarial science: it ain’t perfect. Most pension managers have probably already twigged this after years of data revisions by their appointed scheme actuary. In spite of any appearances to the contrary, actuaries are human, not divine. Yet they qualify and are consequently paid to ...
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Features
Mixed feelings on hedge funds
Hedge funds attracted plenty of attention in 2008 for reasons such as the widespread lack of performance and the alleged Madoff fraud. This month’s Off The Record survey finds opinions divided on hedge funds, with equally strong views voiced by both those who invest in hedge funds and those who ...
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Features
Filling in the GAAP
Spain has introduced new accounting rules. Guillermo Ezcurra explains how the new regulation is organised and identifies which parts are relevant to pensions accounting
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FeaturesMinus five is the new zero
Absolute return strategies do not always produce absolute returns, and alternative investments are not always decorrelated from the mainstream. Long/short investors do not always have skill in shorting, let alone the long. Convertible arbitrageurs are not always able to arbitrage their convertibles. Leveraged strategies have seen their leverage dry up ...
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FeaturesHold or fold?
Small and mid caps have taken a beating in the market downturn. Joseph Mariathasan assesses their outlook
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Features
Sovereign funds under pressure
Sovereign pension funds (SPFs) have emerged in recent years as part of governments’ moves to ensure they had enough financing to cover state pension obligations without relying on pay-as-you-go tax schemes. In recent months, however, two of Europe’s largest government schemes - Norway’s Government Pension Fund - Global and the ...
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FeaturesNow for the hard work
The credit crunch has finally exploded in the face of European pension funds. Georg Inderst looks at the problems this has created as investment managers make asset allocation decisions and offers potential solutions
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Features
Winning the ‘hearts and minds of men’
The global debt markets have experienced what Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his best- selling book described as a ‘Black Swan’ event. In other words, a market dislocation whose impact has been enormous, the full ramifications impossible to predict and, post the event, subject to rationalisation. The only thing that is ...
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FeaturesHedging in practice
The focus of liability driven strategies has so far largely been on interest rate and inflation risk. Solutions to longevity risk have been slow both in creation and take-up, finds Nina Röhrbein
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Features
Trend-following slows losses
December offered some respite to the hedge fund industry at large from the string of losses seen in the last six months, with the composite Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index finishing the month up 0.9%. Funds of funds, however, returned -0.7% on average. December has traditionally been a positive month for ...
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FeaturesPutting off mañana
Although the leading political parties agree they should revisit the Toledo pact that is the basic text of Spain’s pensions reform, they have yet to agree when. And pensions are just not on the current government’s agenda, writes George Coats
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FeaturesPensions in Obama’s sights
When Barack Obama is inaugurated as president in January 2009, provisions affecting the pension fund industry could well be an important part of his intended new economic stimulus. But this follows little debate about the retirement system during the campaign, except when US employee’s losses in 401(k) individual accounts were ...
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Features
Two paths to passive tactics
There are more and more ways to access passive investment strategies – in terms of fund types, approaches to benchmark replication and the range of providers. Here, Liam Kennedy looks at sampling and synthetic approaches to indexation
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Features
A two-way street
Nina Röhrbein spoke to Edwin Meysmans, managing director of Pensioenfonds KBC, about running a two-tier pension scheme and the different investment strategies necessary
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Features
A torrid year
After three months of significant losses, the stock markets managed a positive return (+1.06%) in December, with volatility remaining high (40%), albeit down to two-thirds of November’s level. Over the year, the S&P500 index registered a record loss of 37%. Once again, the commodities market registered a double-digit loss (-10.65%), ...
