All Features articles – Page 308
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Features
The Anglo-Saxon lesson
I was fascinated by reports of one of the more provocative talks given over the last few weeks was from a former chairman of the UK’s National Association of Pension Funds. Alan Pickering’s speech concerned the future of UK trustees. Given at a European Bond Conference in early April, Pickering, ...
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Features
Beating the drum for overlay
With my recent relocation to Japan, I have been contemplating the challenges, risks, idiosyncrasies and opportunities of that greatest of financial games: ‘global asset allocation’. From the gleaming towers of Tokyo to the ‘square mile’ of London and the skyscrapers of Wall Street, one thing seems clear: after a decade ...
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Features
Bewag believes in 'safety first'
The Berlin-based Bewag Pensionskasse feels that its policy of extreme prudence over the past three years has paid off. Risk is almost a dirty word, as management – and doubtless the members too – content themselves with the chosen ‘safety first policy. The fund, Bewag Pensionskasse, which was Germany’s twelfth-largest ...
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Features
Counting their blessings
The appetite of the Belgian dentist, Belgium’s archetypal retail investor, for capital guaranteed and minimum return products is legendary. To satisfy this investor, investment products must provide protection from downside risk. Now the country’s institutional investors are developing the same sort of appetite. Part of the reason for this is ...
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Features
Pension funds to boost markets
Ukraine, the second biggest country in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) after Russia, is the latest in implementing a World Bank-style three-pillar pensions system. A long-term strategy for pensions reform was developed back in 1998 by PADCO, a contractor for USAID; the company subsequently won USAID’s tender for a ...
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Features
Second half slowdown on cards
The economic recovery is broadening. The US and Asia remain the two engines while the Euroland is accelerating even if it is still lagging. Profit margins keep on rising in the US and Japan. It is bottoming in Euroland but some improvements are expected. So far, the profit cycle is ...
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Features
Growing case for diversifying widely
Greater diversification, a broader opportunity set and on average a higher information ratio might in summary be the case for allocating to global fixed income. If equity volatility wasn’t enough of an inducement, asset/liability modelling also favours bonds over equities. With low yields, and expensive domestic long bonds, investors are ...
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Features
Church fund guided by divine prudence
One of the main Pensionskassen in Germany is Berlin-based VERKA which was founded in 1924 by the Evangelical Church and today provides pensions for all of the country’s church employees. According to figures published by the German regulator BAFin, VERKA’s asset total of just over E1.5bn at the end of ...
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Features
Currency overlay
Pension funds and institutional investors have been globalising their portfolios for many years, yet a majority of these investors have typically ignored the currency risk inherent in these investments. For example, euro-based investor with US assets has seen a reduction in returns from investing in the US since 2001 (close ...
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Features
It will be different this time
German investors are beginning to draw their breath again. Especially now that they think they know where the equity markets are, but the pain equities caused is not forgotten. The bolt hole of fixed income is where many investors bunkered down but this space could be growing increasingly uncomfortable on ...
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Features
Doubts dispersing
While considerable slack remains in the Japanese economy, there are also strong signs of sustainable recovery as years of corporate restructuring start to pay dividends. So first the bad news: in its most recent monthly Report of Recent Economic Developments published in February, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) commented that ...
