All Features articles – Page 35
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FeaturesRelative response to liquidity issues
Equity risk is a crucial portfolio exposure for pension funds and a key driver for long-term retirement outcomes for pension plans and their beneficiaries. Yet the structure of equity markets is in transition, which changes the way pension funds choose to allocate capital to them.
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator: June 2019
Last months’ move away from political risk continued this month for the US, the EU and Japan. The UK figures were stable or moving slightly in the opposite direction, reflecting worries over Brexit with the UK body politic in disarray.
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FeaturesBriefing: Shining a light on active ETFs
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have grown into a $5trn (€4.4trn) global industry by focusing on a few key selling points – low costs, liquidity, easy diversification and transparency.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Unlocking new insights
Fundamental investment success involves developing a view on global trends and future market directions as well as identifying relevant investments that are aligned with this strategy. This second step of the process is long and labourious.
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FeaturesBriefing: It is all downhill from here
Six months ago, markets were rediscovering volatility, sentiment was wavering and there were growing fears that we had reached the end of a decade-long bull market for most assets. There were several reasons, such as worries over indicators, global trade tensions and the sustainability of corporate earnings growth, but one of the key ones was the relentless raising of interest rates by the US Federal Reserve.
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FeaturesInterview: Sharon Bowles – A forensic assessment
The former chair of the European Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee talks to Stephen Bouvier
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FeaturesNo going back
There is no going back to the days when the key political divide was between mainstream left and right
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FeaturesEurope belatedly turns eastwards
The EU’s lack of a common strategy to respond to the rise of China as an economic superpower suddenly came to the fore earlier this year, as Italy joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
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FeaturesFixed income, rates, currencies: Politics remains the bellwether
Financial markets continue to be influenced by news, and tweets, about the US-China trade negotiations. While stock markets have sold off during the second quarter of 2019, and credit spreads have widened, this financial tightening is so far less than what happened over the last few months of 2018.
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Features
Briefing: Guidance for valuation of ILS
Valuation has always been an important, albeit thorny, component in assessing insurance-linked securities (ILS) but the higher-than-expected losses in 2017 and 2018 made the number crunching even trickier. The recently published set of guidelines from the Standard Board of Alternative Investments (SBAI) is designed to improve the process but investors should always be aware of the risks attached to this asset class.
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FeaturesDC’s collective voice could be decisive
Australian pension funds could soon become the biggest shareholders in their country’s equity market (see page 5), with researchers at Rainmaker Information forecasting their combined domestic stock holdings to hit 60% by 2033.
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ESG: Evolving non-financial reporting
This month, the European Commission is due to release guidelines on climate-related reporting by companies.
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FeaturesInterview: Haukur Hafsteinsson, LSR
The government pensions veteran bids farewell to LSR, Iceland’s largest pension, after 34 years as its chief executive
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FeaturesPolicies needed
The new European Commission will inherit a coherent but partially implemented Capital Markets Union (CMU) in the autumn. But much needs to be done to consolidate, refocus and re-energise this landmark constellation of policies and objectives.
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FeaturesAccounting Matters: Splitting the difference
If ever proof were needed that the dividing line between defined benefit (DB) and defined contributions (DC) pension promises is coming under pressure, it was a discussion at the IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC) on 6 March.
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FeaturesPension funds act as Nordic drama engulfs Swedbank
Sweden’s largest pension funds have been thrust into leading roles in a money-laundering scandal over the past few weeks, as Swedbank was raided by fraud investigators and forced to fire its CEO.
