All Features articles – Page 192
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Features
Downturn proves short-lived
While the Icelandic stock market fell by 20% last year on fears that the economy was overheating, this scare has proved to be an overreaction, as George Coats reports
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Features
Double-digit returns mark goodyear
Many funds increased their exposure to equities last year but there were some exceptions to the rule, as George Coats discovers
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Moving away from home
Funds look global as expectations of a domestic market correction boom, George Coats finds
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Features
Managers assess fallout from Swissfirst
The Swissfirst scandal has rocked the pensions industry, but managers in Switzerland feel there is no need for root-and-branch reform. George Coats reports
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Room at the inn for non-Swiss custodians
While the market for custodians in Switzerland is ruled by local players there is space for providers with international reach. Heather McKenzie reports
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Features
Occupational savings accounts - made in Germany
In a country that has traditionally been dominated by the state pay-as-you-go system, Murat Ünal examines an innovative vehicle that is a growing part of the debate on the future of German pensions provision
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Features
What managers really do
To identify ‘skill’, it is now possible to measure the moves and decisions that a manager makes. Rick di Mascio reports
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Features
Polished display from Pensioensfonds Metaal
A more specialist approach and less dependence on consultants has helped the Pensioenfonds Metaal scheme in Belgium increase its assets six-fold, writes David White
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Features
Dynamic strategies for pension funds
Are dynamic investment strategies a realistic alternative to static strategies for Swiss pension funds? Can a simplified ALM model be used to evaluate a pension fund’s financial decisions? St Gallen University has just released interesting research on this topic
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Features
Procrastination and pan-European pensions
As opponents of the EU are fond of saying, Europe is a continent, not a country. The national interests of member states will inevitably take precedence over plans for cross-border co-operation. Naked nationalism will always be stronger than Panglossian proposals for pan-Europeanism
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Features
Growth and a greater number of products
“There’s life in the old dog yet” ran the title of the lead article in last year’s Spezialfonds issue. How true, how very true: in 2005, the excellent growth by Spezialfonds showed once again that some people had been a little too quick to write them off. In fact, the ...
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Features
A range of approaches
Pension funds have taken an array of approaches to currency management. Some are using pure hedging strategies, while others are adopting active management. Maha Khan Phillips talks to pension funds that think about currency in very different ways.
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Features
Bridging the credibility gap
The divergence between asset managers and pension funds about the products funds need is symptomatic of a wider gulf. Stephanie Schwartz-Driver reports
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Features
European consultancy shapes up for the future
Stricter regulation and disappointing investment performances during the past couple of years have shaken up the inter-relationship between asset managers, institutional investors and consultants. Two independent Dutch and German consultancy firms that are cooperating together explain their reasons against a changing scenario for their businesses
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Features
Aegon’s €40bn pooling project with Citigroup
Citigroup Global Transaction Services is to build an investment platform for Aegon The Netherlands that will enable the Dutch insurance and pensions company to pursue a range of asset strategies across multiple jurisdictions. Sikko van Katwijk, managing director at Citigroup, said the platform is designed to help investment managers change ...
