All Features articles – Page 200
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Features
A noise about silence
The much delayed reform of the pension system is finally due to be implemented at the beginning of 2008. Not a moment too soon. While the date has slipped continuously over the years the urgency for reform grows in sympathy, as the fortunes of the new generation of pension funds ...
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Features
ABP eyes non-listed sector amid short-termism
Europe’s largest pension fund, the Dutch civil service giant ABP, is planning to shift the accent of its investments to non-listed companies and real estate, says chief investment officer Roderick Munsters. The main reasons are the increasing short-term thinking within the listed sector, and the growing pressure of corporate governance ...
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Features
UCITS denied pensions access
There has been some progress made recently towards prising open the market for UCITS funds - repeatedly touted by the European Commission (EC) as one of the key investment vehicles for retirement savings - but for many market participants things have not gone far enough. Those advocating a tighter linkage ...
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Features
Address the fundamentals
If you ask the question why invest in emerging market equities, the answer is pretty straightforward: emerging market economies are going to be a much more significant part of the global economy in the future and growth rates are generally higher than developed countries. Jim O’Neil at Goldman Sachs estimates ...
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Features
Marè’s advice: hold your course
Italy is on the brink of dramatic changes to its pension fund market. Either the Maroni reform goes on and pension funds grow strongly, or the industry will face a new paralysis that will be detrimental to future retirees. A third way, which is going back to a very generous ...
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Features
Alternatives making a little headway
In Italy, investment rules for each pension fund differ according to what type of legal regime it falls into. The most recent funds, formed under the 1993 pensions law, cannot in general invest in alternatives – they can only do so via harmonised mutual funds linked to traditional asset classes. ...
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Features
Shunning the black box
Imagine you are at a cocktail party by Lake Geneva on a warm summer evening, perhaps in Lausanne or Montreux. And as you sip a drink and enjoy the view of the sun setting behind the mountains you are aware of an ambiance of good feeling, you see people networking ...
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Features
When the state bows out
Latvia’s fledgling second pillar pension funds expect to receive a much-needed shot in the arm over the coming year if a plan to withdraw the State Treasury from the market is approved by parliament. “The State Treasury became involved in funded pensions because our pension reform was implemented in the ...
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Features
Burying heads in sand
The attitude to hedge funds among most UK pension funds never fails to amaze me. While happily (or at least willingly) accepting the volatility of equities, most trustees seem too frightened to make an investment in hedge funds, claiming that such an investment would be too risky despite the majority ...
