All Features articles – Page 87
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Features
Geology doesn’t end at the border
Europe sits atop abundant shale energy reserves and Moscow’s annexation of Crimea has catalysed interest in unlocking it to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Tapping those reserves will be a long-term investment proposition, says Christopher O’Dea
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Features
Outward bound
We seem to get out of the office so rarely these days. All of us spend more time dealing with electronic communications that simple, face-to-face contact takes place less often than it used to.
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Features
Little red box full of radical tricks
Every spring, the UK chancellor presents the public with a red box full of tricks, setting out the government’s economic plans. While pension tax relief has often been tinkered with, this year George Osborne announced a wide-ranging reform of the defined contribution (DC) at-retirement system, the implications of which will be far-reaching.
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Features
Brinksmanship
The Dutch pension system has been on the brink of a large-scale overhaul for five years now. In 2009 the government postponed a wholesale revision of Dutch second- pillar pensions with two major studies into the sustainability of the Dutch second pillar. Their findings led to a slew of reform proposals – some sensible, some outrageous, all contentious.
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Features
Creativity in captivity
After Iceland’s banking collapse, capital restrictions meant pension funds had to invest significant assets in the domestic market. Gylfi Jónasson, CEO of the Festa Pension Fund tells Jonathan Williams that being captive does not have to breed contempt
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Features
Rates of change
A multi-polar growth and monetary landscape will require a less constrained approach to fixed income, argues Stephen Cohen. Right now emerging markets look like an attractive prospect
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Features
Growing pensions China style
China launched a massive stimulus pro- gramme in 2008 in its bid to fend off the ravages of the global downturn. While that largely succeeded, there are now long-standing fears of an asset bubble, particularly in property. Growth is predicted to slow this year to its lowest rate since 1990. The country is in the midst of an anti-corruption drive, which is hitting sales of luxury goods, and air quality is still awful.
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Features
Warning: contents may vary
Michel Barnier, the European Commissioner for the internal market, seems determined to end his period in office with a blizzard of activity ahead of this month’s European Par- liament elections. The (much watered down) draft directive for IORP II and a paper on long-term financing of the European economy were closely followed by a draft directive revising shareholder rights legislation, complete with a controversial proposal for a mandatory say-on-pay vote at EU listed companies.
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Features
Pension perceptions programme puts pension funds in control
Following the successful completion of an initial development stage in 2012-13, IPE has now announced the full European roll-out of the Pension Fund Perception
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Features
Credit where it’s due
Of the 22 investors polled for this month’s Focus Group, seven feel that credit has become more important in their fund’s portfolio over the past five years, and a further 10 believe it has become slightly more important. Only two rate credit as less important.
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Features
Focus Group: Credit where it’s due
Of the 22 investors polled for this month’s Focus Group, seven feel that credit has become more important in their fund’s portfolio over the past five years, and a further 10 believe it has become slightly more important. Only two rate credit as less important.
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Features
Can the EC play a long-term game?
As part of the European Commission’s reinvigorated attempt to promote future investment in key economic areas, it has now produced a legislative agenda for the long-term financing of investment.
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Features
The mission for pensions reform
Eleven years have passed since the European pensions industry digested, welcomed and, in some cases, bemoaned the Directive for Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision, or IORP I as it became known. This year, the European Commission once again took up the arduous task of updating this Directive, publishing its legislative agenda before submitting it to the European trialogue machine.
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Features
On the naughty step
Moves by members of the European Parliament to subject accountancy bodies to greater political scrutiny spell trouble for the IFRS Foundation, writes Stephen Bouvier
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Features
Back to basics
The Herculean task of harmonising the funding rules for Europe’s defined benefit pension schemes has been officially decoupled from the planned IORP II Directive, to the relief of all those who would have to deal with the complex analytical framework needed to coordinate the rules. That framework would almost certainly have led to lower risk tolerance and a mass exodus from risk assets on the part of European pension funds.
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Features
Banking on emerging markets
Financial services may be a less stretched way to get exposure to the emerging consumer, writes David Turner. But will stockpicking shield investors from these markets’ credit crunches?
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Features
Can small still be beautiful?
Despite the well-documented benefits of consolidation, there are still thousands of pension funds with assets under €1bn. Given that most of them cannot gain scale efficiencies, what can they do to make the best of their situation?
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Features
Beyond the glib view
Credit rating agencies did not cover them- selves in glory in the financial crisis, particularly when it came to the rating of sub-prime credit instruments. While the main ones have taken steps to put their house in order, the EU has targeted the perceived mechanistic over-reliance of institutions on external ratings.
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Features
Minister courts schemes on PIP
Danny Alexander, a senior Treasury minister in the UK government, has called on pension funds to invest more in infrastructure.
