Top news
European pensions sector bemoans overreach in EIOPA costs, DC opinions
OPSG, PensionsEurope and Insurance Europe respond to a pair of draft opinions from EIOPA
Industry corner: UK pension firms adopt, trial hybrid working
Office (re)design is a key consideration
Legal & General back with £925m assured payment policy
Deal is insurer’s second APP with an L&G pension scheme
Aon, Willis Towers Watson abandon merger plan
Aon CEO says firms ‘reached impasse’ with US Department of Justice
Interview: Mats Andersson, ex-AP4 CEO, recipient of the Légion d’Honneur
Former chief of AP4 receives French award for his part in pioneering decarbonisation for pension funds
IOSCO issues consultation report on ESG ratings, data providers
Proposed recommendations cover aspects such as transparency of methodologies and managing conflicts of interest
Institutional investors planning more indexing in fixed income – survey
Fixed income indexing ‘may be approaching an inflection point’, says SSGA
Pensions Congress: Execs rethink strategic paradigm to face new challenges
Asset managers will have to ‘diversify portfolios in a robust way’ and will have to shift the focus on how to manage new ‘risky assets’ to reduce volatility
Pension investors put faith in central bankers to handle inflation
Inarcassa, Danica Pension CIOs tell IPE Summer Pensions Congress they’re confident about monetary policy, but Mondrian warns on debt burden
Pensions Congress: ‘Alternative credit regulatory arbitrage could disappear’
Because of the lack of regulatory oversight, risks in alternative credit can easily be overlooked
Pensions Congress | Post-COVID: Adaptation, Innovation, Navigation – view streams
Danica deepens non-life insurance loss in H1 amid tax dispute
Danske’s pensions subsidiary reports 30% year-on-year increase in premiums
In depth: UWV fund to introduce Paris-aligned Benchmark
The pension fund will sell its investments in oil and gas companies, utilities with coal-fired power plants and miners with coal mining activities
Investors co-sponsor standard to help reduce plastic pollution
Equities, alternatives drive up Swiss pension funds’ funding ratio in H1
Border to Coast on track to deliver £250m of savings
Kingfisher Pension Scheme inks £900m bulk annuity with Aviva
VBV Pensionskasse reaches €8.5bn AUM with Siemens’ pension beneficiaries
Railpen ‘carefully considers, announces and shares’ net-zero plan
International report finds investors often legally bound to go green
Brunel picks trio for £2.1bn multi-asset credit fund
People moves: Keva's new chief, PLSA calls for policy board chair nominations
LGPS pool finds five more takers for renewable infra fund
AP1 thanks its ‘constructive view of risk-taking’ for 11% return in H1
Italy roundup: Alifond awards mandates for ‘bilanciato’ sub-fund
Finance groups welcome ‘joining of the dots’ with CSRD proposal
ESG roundup: Zurich UK switches $1bn to new ESG benchmark
International report finds investors often legally bound to go green
‘A Legal Framework for Impact’ report now out, commissioned by PRI, Generation Foundation, UNEP FI
Brunel picks trio for £2.1bn multi-asset credit fund
Managers grilled about approach to alignment with Paris Agreement and carbon data challenges
Exit interview: Ivonne Forno
Ivonne Forno, former CEO of Laborfonds, reflects on her experience of building one of Italy’s most successful pension institutions
On the record: Unlisted priorities
Two pension funds discuss how their strategies for non-listed investments are evolving
Strategically speaking: Lyxor & Amundi
Lyxor has made a mark over the 20-plus years of its existence, pioneering managed accounts for hedge funds, including the first dedicated institutional managed account platform, that it created for PGGM in 2010.
How we run our money: Fondo Pensione Nazionale BCC CRA
Sergio Carfizzi (pictured), CEO of Italy’s Fondo Pensione Nazionale BCC CRA, tells Carlo Svaluto Moreolo about the fund’s ambitious alternative-investment programme
On the record: Stewardship in action
IPE asked three pension funds about their stewardship strategies and agendas ahead of the 2021 AGM season
People moves: Veritas names new CEO, Abrdn's CIO to retire
Veritas, Abrdn, Fitch Ratings, Varma, Sand Grove Capital, Value Partners, Aquila Heywood, FINMA, Allianz Global Investors, AXA, Partners Capital, Candriam, WWF/Aviva Investors, Nuveen
People moves: PLSA picks Douglas as chair
PLSA, Russell Investments, M&G Real Estate, EZVK, HSBC AM, Pensioenfederatie, APK, Capstone, APG, AXA IM
Briefing: New benchmark to reduce cost of FX transactions
Among the areas of focus for a pension fund looking to cut costs are the fees charged by its asset managers, usually as an annual percentage of assets under management, plus costs for other services. As part of a cost-cutting exercise, however, foreign exchange (FX) is often neglected. But as funds increasingly invest outside their home country, FX transactions are acquiring more significance because of the need to hedge foreign currency fluctuations. And these deals can carry hidden costs.
Briefing: Bonds on the blockchain
Bitcoin’s wild ride has been hard to ignore this past year. However, it has mainly attracted its stalwart audience of retail investors, family offices and hedge funds. Institutional investors mostly sat on the sidelines, although interest has been piqued. Digital assets, most notably bonds and not cryptocurrencies, are likely to garner the inflows owing to the comfort of regulation and established market infrastructure.
Briefing: Central bank digital currencies take shape
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), also sometimes called govcoins, have suddenly become a subject of public discussion. Until recently the topic was mainly the preserve of a coterie of technical experts working for central banks and niche technology firms. But now there seems to be immense excitement about their potential to transform finance. There are even some who suggest the new technology could allow the renminbi to overtake the dollar as the world’s leading cross-border currency.
Social risks impact on employer covenant
The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recent consultation – Consideration of social risks and opportunities by occupational pension schemes – seeks to assess how trustees understand ‘social’ factors and how they aim to integrate financially material social factors into investment and stewardship activities.
Notes from Switzerland: Work in progress
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce: now another referendum result in Switzerland is poised to obstruct changes designed for a long-term impact.
ESG: progress but still much road to travel
Good things are happening in the land of ESG. Aspects of the European Commission’s sustainable finance action plan regulation have certainly been frustrating, but the sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR), for example, does look like it could end up having a beneficial effect, even though there are still problems associated with it and the effect is perhaps not the one that was envisaged for the SFDR.
Viewpoint: Learning from the Nordics for impact investing
A meaningful allocation is important
Viewpoint: Time to start rebalancing portfolios
A whiff of ‘stagflation’ – meaning an economic slowdown accompanied by higher inflation – could soon be wafting into financial market
Guest Viewpoint - Cyril Demaria: Three lessons on private market investing
Writing our book Asset Allocation and Private Markets has led its authors to revisit an old adage, venture on an unusual path, and confront an academic theory.
Long term matters: It’s corporate tax, stupid
Bill Clinton used the slogan “It’s the economy, stupid” to help him win the 1992 US presidential election. The same now applies to corporate tax in 2021.
Social risks impact on employer covenant
The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recent consultation – Consideration of social risks and opportunities by occupational pension schemes – seeks to assess how trustees understand ‘social’ factors and how they aim to integrate financially material social factors into investment and stewardship activities.
Portfolio strategy: Credit
As the institutional investment community heads towards a post-COVID new normal, private credit remains a favourite among investors despite inflationary headwinds. In this report, we also cover the record amounts of capital raised by private-debt funds last year, the latest developments ESG in private markets, and how the digital transformation accelerated by COVID is impacting private debt.
Activist investors: Muscular stewardship
New types of activist investor are attracting support from long-term asset owners, particularly on environmental and social topics
Portfolio strategy: Factor investing
COVID-19 has added a further blow to a decade of factor investing underperformance and highlighted the increasing impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. In this report, we analyse how it may be possible to complement traditional factors with ESG-related measures.
Asset class report: Emerging market equities
The pandemic has substantially altered the landscape for emerging markets. While some countries have contained its effect better than any developed market, others have been devastated. How should investors regard the impact of COVID-19 in their decision-making on future increases on allocations to emerging markets? In this report, we analyse the outlook for the asset class in general, and find out why Brazil continues to hold the interest of investors.
Fixed income & credit
As the world still grapples with the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, credit investors continue their search for attractive yields in an environment where liquidity, even for long-term investors, could become critical. In this report, we look at different aspects of the fixed income & credit universe, including multi-asset credit strategies, the changing US high yield market, and the opportunities for institutional investors in trade and supply-chain finance.
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