All Features articles – Page 232
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Features
Satisfied by sexy industry
Han Thoman recently retired as managing director of Blue Sky Group, which manages the pension assets of airline KLM and several other clients. He also stepped down as chairman of OPF, the Dutch organisation for company pension funds. He joined Blue Sky in 1999 as it was spun off from ...
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Features
Outstanding performance from innovative newcomer
The Gildi Pension Fund is a new name in Icelandic pensions, but it has now won the country award in the first year of its existence. The fund was established on 1 January 2005, from the merger of two pension funds, the Framsyn Pension Fund and the Seamen’s Pension Fund. ...
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Features
Keyed into technology
Although pension regimes can differ significantly from country across Europe, pension funds share a belief that technology is critical to successfully meeting the challenges that face them today. A common theme across the region is change – new regulations, new behaviour in markets where assets are invested, new competition, and ...
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Features
Northern lights
Norway’s long-awaited pension reform allowing defined contribution (DC) schemes will come into effect next year. Among the main provisions is that all employers with two or more employees will have to provide some type of pension plan for their staff. This will bring 600,000 new pension savers onto the market. ...
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Features
Managers: can they predict?
IPE’s Investment Manager’s Expectation Indicator displays predictions on different asset classes of approximately 122 asset managers and is published in every issue of IPE. Russell Investment Group, in the data pages each month, summarises the total figures of how many managers are positive, neutral or negative. This summary gives an ...
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Features
Markets on the move
Swedish pension funds are in a state of culture shock as they get to grips with two new major pieces of legislation. All will have to raise their game as the occupational pensions directive opens up a veritable smorgasbord of investment choice but in return demands prudence. Meanwhile, the authorities ...
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Features
The new quasi-consultants
The specialist pensions groups at the investment banks have a lot to offer trustees. They can be a valuable source of expertise particularly when it comes to using complex financial instruments to solve the liability mismatches plaguing many funds. But just whose side are they on, and is their advice ...
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Features
Bullring acquisition
Henderson Global Investors’ UK shopping centre fund has purchased a £130m (e192.3m) stake in Birmingham’s The Bullring from Australian insurer AMP Life. In exchange AMP has taken units in the fund, in order to increase its diversification to the UK shopping centre market. AMP Capital Investors believe there is strong ...
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Features
Active returns dominate
ABP Dutch fund ABP - the largest pension fund in Europe with assets of e180bn - has made sweeping changes in the way it runs its portfolio in the last three years. The portion of its equities that was run on an indexed basis - 45-50% - was reduced ...
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Features
Actuaries' split personalities
Once upon a time, actuaries lived in an ivory tower, where they pored over complicated mathematical valuations…and they invariably came up with incontrovertible, well-founded and faultless opinions. They towered above the parties, influenced by no one, not even by their bosses. From time to time they explained to everyone who ...
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Features
Hedge funds - too late again?
Germany introduced an innovative hedge fund regulation on 1 January last year. But German investors, including institutions, have yet to invest significantly in hedge funds, while international institutional investors are increasing their exposure to hedge funds and are even being attracted by German-regulated hedge funds. Are Germans missing the boat ...
