All Features articles – Page 216
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Features
Making virtue of necessity
After the Second World War, Belgium developed a broad social security system that differentiated between different kinds of profession. Different schemes were set up for employees, the self-employed and civil servants. The decree of 28 December 1944 provided the populace with legally regulated and guaranteed protection, funded by contributions from ...
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Features
In praise of risk
“I love risk. I like it because it produces returns for me”, said ABP chief investment officer Roderick Munsters at the 5th annual Institutional Fund Management conference in Geneva. Munsters was one of several industry heavyweights expressing views on the current and potential future challenges facing the pension fund, investment ...
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Features
Revolution for self-employed
In common with many European countries, Belgium’s public pension schemes are PAYG; also in common with other European countries, future demographic projections show clearly that these schemes will come under huge financial pressures. A recent report of the OECD hghlighted the effects of longevity as the major challenge for Belgium’s ...
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Features
More to do on settlement
Tim Steele Alongside safekeeping, settlement is one of the foundation stones of the classic ‘hold and settle’ custody model, and in theory one of the most straightforward functions performed by a custodian bank. Yet figures produced by UK-based Amaces show that missed settlement deadlines remain a concern. The firm currently ...
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Features
Funds end 2005 on strong note
All strategies except for CTA global exceeded their long-term average performance in December. Convertible arbitrage was the only strategy to end the year with a negative cumulative performance. Interestingly, the average performance of the hedge fund industry, proxied by the performance of the Edhec funds of funds index, was almost ...
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Features
Unilever sets up €5bn asset pooling
Consumer products group Unilever has set up a pension asset pooling vehicle called Univest which could grow to around €3-5bn in size. The firm said Univest was expected to reduce risk and enhance net return potential. It would provide a “diversified external manager” facility for Unilever schemes worldwide. Unilever’s Dutch ...
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Features
Making AA more dynamic
Trustees are familiar with the world of triennial actuarial valuations, and the accompanying review of contribution rates and investment strategy. Typically, time would be allocated to consider the investment strategy (strategic asset allocation, or policy portfolio) in order to ‘get it right’. It would then be fixed for three years, ...
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Features
Germany's Aba warns of DC risks
Germany’s occupational pensions association Aba has come out against the proliferation of defined contribution plans in Germany, arguing that DC creates new risks for employers and is ineffective. Although German occupational pension schemes have traditionally been defined benefit in nature, many companies are switching to DC. Prominent examples include steel ...
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Features
Directive's impact across board
The objective of the IORPs Directive, otherwise known as the ‘pensions directive’ is to set a common minimum standard of pension scheme governance across EU member states. The directive applies to funded arrangements which provide retirement benefits and are separate legal entities to their sponsoring employers, that is, it applies ...
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Features
A tricky balancing act
It has been said that one of the most overused words on the UK pension scene over last few years has been found to be ‘crisis’, but that does not mean a crisis does not exist. Indeed the word ‘crisis’ has never seemed more appropriate than at the moment, and ...
