All Features articles – Page 244
-
Features
Vital match point in France
The French have got used to relying on a relatively generous pay-as-you-go system of retirement provision but, as in other countries, this has become increasingly pressured by demographic trends and the limitations of the public purse so new solutions had to be found. Saving for retirement is a new concept ...
-
Features
Goodbye to the simple life
Average returns for Belgian pension funds in 2004 were not particularly good, according to Koen de Ryck, chairman and managing director at Pragma Consulting. According to data from the Belgian Association of Pensions Institutions (BVPI) returns averaged 8.93%. The major issue within the pensions industry in Belgium last year was ...
-
Features
Gradually losing their inhibitions
As a Scandinavian country, Norway has been more exposed to the private equity culture than most other countries in Europe. And according to the latest figures from the European Venture Capital Association, Norway is slowly creeping up the European private equity rankings in overall terms. Last year, private equity investment ...
-
Features
Growing investment universe
The Fonditel pension fund in Spain, the fund of Telefonica de Espana, achieved a return on its investments of 6.39% in 2004. “This was achieved basically through the implementation of an adequate exposure to the different asset classes during the year,” the fund says. Fonditel was overweight in equities at ...
-
Features
Opting out of guarantees
The consultation process during the preparation of legislation to implement the EU pension directive has given the industry an opportunity to lobby the authorities on a number of issues. “The process appears to have been a success,” says, says Kurt Bednar of Mercers in Vienna. The main issue centred on ...
-
Features
Harcourt teams up for Swedish index launch
Harcourt Investment Consulting, the Swiss hedge funds business has launched a Swedish hedge fund index. Harcourt has teamed up with data firm SIX and News Agency Direkt on a new series called SIX Harcourt HFXS-Index. They say the new offering provides “a comprehensive insight into the fast-growing Swedish hedge fund ...
-
Features
Putting the jigsaw together
Dealing with deficits and regulation – they are the two things uppermost in people’s minds in the UK pension industry today. It’s not so much regulation itself that is the intrinsic problem; it’s more in the implementation and uncertainty surrounding it that causes difficulties. As one consultant puts it, it’s ...
-
Features
Living with uncertainty
The atmosphere surrounding Swedish pension funds has been positive over the past 12 months with good returns, especially from equities, boosting confidence. However, some see the impending implementation of the EU pensions directive as a cloud on the horizon. One fund that sees adjusting to the pensions directive as a ...
