Investor Strategy – Page 138

  • News

    Barnet considers search for custodian

    2009-08-27T15:50:00Z

    [16:50 CEST 27-08] UK – The London Borough of Barnet is preparing to tender for global custodian services for its £481m (€546m) pension scheme for the first time.

  • Icelandic pensions gain from market pressures
    News

    Icelandic pensions gain from market pressures

    2009-08-27T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 27-08 ICELAND – Icelandic pension funds have inadvertently enjoyed benefits from the recent financial turbulence as earlier moves by the government to force the sale of overseas assets have not been enforced, the sector has instead been given access to wider investment opportunities.

  • News

    Ulster and RBS salary cap plans ignite unions

    2009-08-26T16:15:00Z

    [17:15 CEST 26-08] UK – Planned changes by Ulster Bank and its parent company Royal Bank of Scotland to its defined benefit (DB) schemes, such as capping pensionable salary at 2% or the rate of inflation have met with resistance from trade unions.

  • News

    FRR enjoys recovery ahead of allocation shift

    2009-08-24T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 24-08] FRANCE – Fonds de Reserves pour les Retraites (FRR), the French national pension fund, managed to claw back some of the losses it suffered on investments last year, ahead of changes to its strategic asset allocation.

  • News

    Pricing pressures fail to halt interest in full buyouts

    2009-08-21T15:55:00Z

    [16:55 CEST 21-08] UK – Pensions consultancy Lane, Clark & Peacock has seen an increase in the number of quotation requests for full pensions buyouts, despite warnings on the horizon of possible bulk annuity price increases.

  • News

    Anadolu considers pioneering pensions move

    2009-08-21T15:15:00Z

    TURKEY - Anadolu Hayat Emeklilik, the second-largest pension insurance firm in Turkey in terms of assets under management, could pioneer diversification of the country's pension fund range by introducing a new interest-free investment vehicle which follows the principles of 'Sukuk', IPE has learned.

  • News

    Crisis halts pension fund creation

    2009-08-19T15:55:00Z

    [16:55 CEST 19-08] GERMANY – The German province of Lower Saxony has postponed plans to create a public pension fund, IPE has learnt.

  • News

    Basic diversification rules still hold true – Austrian PKs

    2009-08-18T15:35:00Z

    [16:35 CEST 18-08] AUSTRIA – All three heads of the largest Austrian Pensionskassen believe the financial crisis should not fundamentally change their funds’ assumptions on asset allocation.

  • News

    DC pensions eyed as recruitment tool – Watson Wyatt

    2009-08-18T14:30:00Z

    [15:30 CEST 18-08] UK – Many employers reviewing their existing defined benefit pension arrangements are looking to provide defined contribution plans which make their retirement benefits competitive with rivals, according to consulting firm Watson Wyatt.

  • News

    Lincolnshire seeks global equity manager after strategy review

    2009-08-17T15:40:00Z

    [16:40 CEST 17-08] UK – Lincolnshire County Council has initiated a tender search for one or more managers to run a £200m (€231.9m) global equity portfolio for its local government pension scheme, following a review of its asset allocation strategy.

  • News

    P-Solve retained as Hammersmith & Fulham adviser

    2009-08-17T15:10:00Z

    [16:10 CEST 17-08] UK - The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Superannuation Fund has rehired P-Solve as investment consultant, following a tender process in which four other companies were invited to participate.

  • News

    Hillingdon seeks equity manager, shows Capital the door

    2009-08-14T15:59:00Z

    UK – The London Borough of Hillingdon Pension Fund has launched a tender for an investment manager to replace Capital International, which ran the active overseas equities segment of its portfolio, worth in total around €455.3m, until the end of June.

  • News

    Interest hedge limits Stork scheme loss

    2009-08-14T10:16:00Z

    NETHERLANDS – The €2.1bn pension fund of the industrial conglomerate Stork managed to limit its losses to 13% in 2008, largely thanks to a strategic 70% interest rate hedge on its liabilities.

  • News

    Prudential M&G, GSAM win UK absolute return bond brief (amended)

    2009-08-13T15:55:00Z

    UK – Norfolk County Council Pension Fund has awarded contracts to Prudential M&G and Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) to run active absolute return bond portfolios.

  • News

    Top UK companies now spend more on past promises

    2009-08-13T14:44:00Z

    UK – For the first time ever, FTSE100 companies will spend more on past employee pension promises than those to current staff, according to the annual KPMG Pensions Repayment Monitor Survey.

  • News

    Danica Pension reports strong first-half returns

    2009-08-12T16:24:00Z

    DENMARK - Danica Pension has announced strong returns for the first half of 2009, boosted by its holdings of high quality credit and mortgage bonds.

  • News

    Arcadis signs Delta Lloyd in asset strategy rethink

    2009-08-11T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 11-08] NETHERLANDS - Arcadis, the €617m pension fund for civil engineers, has appointed Delta Lloyd as manager of its €97m portfolio of government bonds, as part of a larger revamp to its asset allocation strategy.

  • News

    Only small German minority to gain decent pension - research

    2009-08-11T15:10:00Z

    [16:10 CEST 11-08] GERMANY – Just under 19% of Germans are building benefits in an occupational pension scheme and nearly 30% have a “Riester-Rente”. But only half will find this will be sufficient to uphold their current living standards, suggests research.

  • News

    Océ scheme prepares for benefit cuts

    2009-08-10T16:15:00Z

    [17:15 CEST 10-08] NETHERLANDS - The hard-hit pension fund of photocopier manufacturer Océ has announced it will start cutting pension rights and benefits next year if the economic situation has not sufficiently improved.

  • News

    Physios scheme scales down unconditional indexation

    2009-08-07T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CEST 07-08] NETHERLANDS - The €1.6bn pension fund for physiotherapists (SPF) has decided to lower its 2.5% fixed indexation payment, as the scheme had a cover ratio of 94% by the end of last year and a return of –14%.