All Features articles – Page 164
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Features
Beyond the headlines
Pension deficit figures make headline news. But how useful is the accounting valuation of a defined-benefit plan’s funding status in assessing whether a plan sponsor can match its obligations? Stephen Bouvier speaks to leading preparers and consultants in a bid to find out
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Features
Boom or bust?
Joseph Mariathasan asks whether the growth experienced in emerging market equites in recent years is sustainable and considers whether now is the right time to be increasing exposure to the sector
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Features
King coal bows out of the industry
David Morgan is retiring as CEO of Coal Pension Trustees – the executive arm of the trustees of the £26bn (€38bn) pension schemes of the former British Coal – at the end of July after nine years. George Coats asked him about his career
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Features
SIFs’ challenge to German ‘Spezials’
Luxembourg’s new and flexible specialised investment funds are threatening to take business away from German Spezialfonds. Nina Röhrbein reports
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Features
Recovering from chaos
The Balkan states have long been considered as being at the end of Europe but Branko Zeleznik sees the beginning of a turnaround
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Features
Smoothing comes under scrutiny
If the International Accounting Standards Board was looking for praise of its decision to tackle pensions accounting, it found it among members of its recently formed pensions working group at its inaugural 5 June meeting. Although a minority warned the board against creating an era of constant upheaval in pensions ...
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Features
Introducing a competitive element
Portugal’s state social security buffer fund is at the threshold of two changes – the outsourcing of assets and the introduction of a new defined contribution regime within the first pillar. Liam Kennedy asked Manuel Pedro Baganha of FEFSS about these changes and how they will affect the fund
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Features
Judgement day nears for TFR
The coming weeks will see whether the Italian government’s attempt to resuscitate Italy’s flagging pension system has been a success or failure, writes George Coats
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Features
Diversification through partnership
French banking group BNP Paribas has built a distinctive business model for its asset management business. Through a system of partnerships with specialist investment firms it has created a diversified portfolio of skills which it offers to clients through a single platform. Among the key ‘signings’ have been ...
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Features
M&A drives returns growth
Market movements and fund returns in May were largely a continuation of those seen in April as M&A volume and large capital flows provided the fuel for a global equity rally kick-started by strong earnings data. Also of note is the resilience of several markets to negative news over the ...
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Features
Survival of the fittest
Maria Teresa Cometto looks at how Cometa, Italy’s largest and second oldest closed penion fund, is staving off competition from banks and insurance companies
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Features
A foundation of strength
Italy’s banking foundations are among the countries more sophisticated institutional investors, finds Rachel Fixsen
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Features
Open funds open wider
Reform of open pension funds is liberalising the domestic market. Maria Teresa Cometto spoke with Intesa Previdenza, the largest such fund in Italy
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Features
Keeping to his horizon
Jean-Louis Nakamura, chief investment officer at France’s Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites, talks to Brendan Maton about the future of investment management, appreciating collective risk and retaining bright staff in a public-sector organisation
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Features
An inequitable situation
The UK Equitable Life scandal shows the need for consumer confidence in financial services, writes Jeremy Woolfe
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Features
No longer the soft option
Interest in soft commodities is growing strongly on the back of environmental concerns, finds Lynn Strongin Dodds
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Features
Transferable skills
Bond managers’ expertise in macro economics and sector analysis can be applied to top-down equity portfolios. Joseph Mariathasan reports
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Features
Reforming the UCITS reforms
The European Union’s UCITS legislation is a work in progress. Sophia Grene charts its development over the years
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Features
The rise of alternative alternatives
As investors discover all that glisters is not gold, long-only asset classes are becoming the new alternatives, Amin Rajan discovers
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Features
Multi boutiques make their mark
Sophia Grene examines how some asset managers have developed a multi-specialist model
