All Features articles – Page 390
-
Features
The shape of things to come
Numerous articles have been written about the demographic need for pension reform as countries across Europe struggle to come to terms with their ageing populations. The responses of individual European countries have been varied, as each, to a greater or lesser extent, moves from state provision towards private funding. The ...
-
Features
Come out of your silos
For an industry that is meant to be forward looking and agile, it is surprising how the fund management community have allowed themselves to stay a couple of steps behind the companies that they buy and sell. UK fund managers have traditionally structured themselves along geographic lines. This means that ...
-
Features
Diversification key continental trend
In 2001, continental European funds continued both to outsource the management of their assets and shift their asset allocation strategy. These are key findings of our study of investment management in continental Europe conducted in the summer of 2001. For three years, we have charted the shift in asset mix ...
-
Features
Employers lead the flight to defined contribution
The move into defined contribution schemes in Austria had been driven almost entirely by the desire of businesses to remove their pension fund liabilities from their balance sheets. Until 1990 all occupational pension schemes in Austria were book reserve schemes. During the 1970s this created the problem of hidden liabilities ...
-
Features
How group control helps local plans
Many multinationals have built up pension arrangements that can become complex when they are consolidated at group level. These frequently contain a mixture of defined benefit and defined contribution schemes. They may be invested directly or indirectly – for example, through insurance policies or investment funds – and may have ...
-
Features
Pension schemes - controlling the corporate risk
The ACT is just one of many professional bodies in the investment and finance area, but it sets particularly high standards in its efforts to educate its members. This booklet (fewer than 100 sides of A5, plus a bibliography and glossary) is the latest in their series; it brings together ...
-
Features
DC gives more flexibility in Norway
Historically, retirement plans in Norway have been predominantly defined benefit but legislation that came into effect on 1 January 2001 now permits tax qualified defined contribution plans. One of the stated goals for this new law is to encourage pension provision for the 1m or so Norweigan workers without any ...
-
Features
Good decisions need freedom
Continental European pension fund managers have more confidence in their pension fund boards and investment committees than UK counterparts have in their trustees. This was one of the findings to emerge from the Global Asset Study conference organised by benefits consultants Watson Wyatt in Brussels last month. In an electronic ...
-
Features
That old eggs-and-baskets question
The collapse of the US energy giant Enron, and the impact of this on the company’s pensions plan, has placed a question mark above defined contribution (DC) schemes in general and 401(k) plans in particular. More than 60% of Enron’s 401(k) retirement plan was invested in company stock and Enron ...
-
Features
Overcoming EU roadblocks
The Financial Services Policy Group has met in Brussels to consider the political obstacles to the action plan, which includes the pensions directive and the Lamfalussy report. The group discussed political obstacles to, among other things, the proposed pension fund directive (IP/00/1141) with the aim of paving the way for ...
-
Features
'Sweet spot in Europe'
Indexed asset management worldwide was given its annual work-out in Barcelona at the World Cup of Indexing, organised by IMN, and was found to be in good shape, despite the assault of poor equity markets. The development of indexing in Europe was put in context by Massoud Mussavian of Goldman ...
