All Features articles – Page 316
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Features
France and Spain get on side
The announcement by France and Spain can be considered as a major breakthrough in the battle to achieve an internal market for occupational pensions. It also increases the pressure on member states whose tax legislation still discriminates against foreign pension funds (Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, the UK and ...
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Features
Investing in tax-sheltered hedge funds
Supplemental executive pensions and deferred bonus programmes of US corporations, although recognised on corporate balance sheets, have typically not been funded in advance of their distribution dates. CFOs have been convinced corporate assets would earn a higher after-tax rate of return if invested within the company than in a diversified ...
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Features
Funds' qualified support
European pension funds are strong supporters of pensions consultants. According to the responses to a survey undertaken by IPE, the overwhelming majority of (91%) – use external pensions consultants. Of those which do not, just 6% say they have in-house expertise. One respondent however went further: “Our pension fund has ...
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Features
Income generators in vogue
The traditional equity-versus-bond decision in asset allocation is becoming too simplistic. The clear trend is towards greater diversification, particularly into non-traditional asset classes, together with a shift from relative return to total return investment. In 2003, there were many opportunities for asset managers to generate positive investment returns. Given the ...
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Features
An uncomfortably hot seat
As Malcolm Wicks, UK Minister of State for Pensions, acknowledges, the world of pensions has changed from a “rather dusty but worthy corner of business and public policy” to a “big issue” that regularly makes front-page headlines in UK tabloid newspapers. “That can be uncomfortable for Pensions Ministers from time ...
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FeaturesHow the parliamentary pension scheme works
The pension scheme for Westminster MPs, the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF) operates like most funded final salary arrangements by investing its members’ contributions and those from the Exchequer, which takes the place of an employer in an occupational scheme, in the financial markets.
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Features
Tapiola spreads its wings
The investment environment has been very challenging, says Hanna Hiidenpalo, who is investment director for Tapiola Mutual Pensions Insurance, based in Espoo. The guaranteed rate of return Finnish investors need to receive is currently at 4.5%. “The decision about the guarantee rate is not very closely related to the realities ...
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Features
Lure of sound regulation
Rightly or wrongly, offshore jurisdictions are associated with light regulation, and the main job of offshore regulators is perceived to be placing as few obstacles as possible in the way of multinational companies wishing to set up pension schemes for their employees. Guernsey, for example, has specifically exempted international pensions ...
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Features
Value for money?
The cost of something depends on people’s willingness to pay the price. In pension consulting it requires them to place a value on advice where local knowledge is vital and limits cross-border competition and so the UK leads the way in charging clients the most. In part this is because ...
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Features
Slow task of rebuilding
Like the adverts for Carlsberg beer, the Danes believe that they probably have the best system in Europe when it comes to pensions coverage. Granted the Dutch will have more in terms of funded assets per head, but Denmark’s second pillar occupational membership at an estimated 95% of the workforce ...
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Features
US to dictate Europe's 2004
Two developments in the US hold the key to how the Euro-zone equities market is likely to perform in 2004. One is the recovery of the US economy and the other is depreciation of the US dollar. The questions the European markets are asking are – will the fall in ...
