Investor Strategy – Page 150
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VER drops €1.93bn as equity losses exceed 42%
[16:55 CET 03-03] FINLAND - Valtion Eläkerahasto (VER), the State Pension Fund, has reported an overall investment return of -15.8% in 2008, driven primarily by the results from its equity portfolio which lost 42.7% over the year.
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PME mulls pensions cut in 2010
[16:00 CET 03-03] NETHERLANDS - PME, the €18.7bn industry-wide pension fund for the metal engineering industry, could be forced to reduce pension benefits next year if the extended five-year recovery period is not given further flexibility.
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Global equity declines hit AP7 hard
[17:00 CET 02-03] SWEDEN – Sjunde AP-fonden (AP7) has reported a fall of -42.8% in its Premium Choice Fund, while the Premium Savings Fund, the default for savers in the Swedish pension system (PPM) dropped 36.2%.
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Merseyside opposed management at 15% of UK AGMs
[16:55 CET 02-03] UK – The £3.7bn (€4.1bn) Merseyside Pension Scheme has revealed it voted against company management in 15% of UK company meetings last year, as corporate behaviour was "judged to be below best practice guidelines".
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DNB to review contracting-out risks
[16:45 CET 02-03] NETHERLANDS - Pensions regulator De Nederlandsche Bank will focus its supervision this year on the way pension funds’ boards handle the responsibility of risk management when it comes to dealing with contracted-out tasks.
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Gwynedd tenders active bonds portfolio
[16:15 CET 02-03] UK – Gwynedd Council is seeking an active bond manager for a £100m (€113m) active bond mandate for its local authority pension fund following a recent review of its investment structure.
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Pensionskassen important for recovery, claims Böhm
[16:10 CET 02-03] AUSTRIA/GLOBAL - The head of Austrian Pensionskasse APK has hit back at recent criticism of pensions investors and claimed pension funds will be important investors once markets normalise again.
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Finnish retirement age slipped in 2008
[15:45 CET 03-02] FINLAND – The average effective retirement age for Finnish workers decreased slightly to 59.4 years in 2008 as the first baby boomer age group reached the lower-age limit for the old age pension last year, according to Eläketurvakeskus, the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
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Philips hits a flat note on pensions
[15:00 CET 02-03] NETHERLANDS - The €13bn pension fund of electronics giant saw its investments yielding nothing in 2008 while other schemes struggled with losses of at least a fifth, but it did so largely thanks to a 17% return on fixed income holdings.
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APG set to unveil its corporate strategy
[17:15 CET 27-02] NETHERLANDS – APG Group, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dutch pension fund for healthcare workers ABP, is now developing the next stage of its international expansion plans following its recent merger with rival firm Cordares.
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German investor pursues corporate bonds
[17:00 CET 27-02] GERMANY – A German corporate investor is looking for an asset manager to look after up to €200m in investment grade corporate bonds, using IPE-Quest.
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VBV to raise commodity holding
[17:00 CET 25-02] AUSTRIA – VBV, the largest Austrian Pensionskasse, wants to invest more in commodities and is looking at a foray into infrastructure.
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Call on Dutch to target Western Europe
[15:30 CET 25-02] NETHERLANDS – The Dutch pensions industry should focus on EU countries in Western Europe as an export market for the Dutch pension system because their models are relatively compatible, according to an academic and pensions expert.
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Schemes granted five years recovery – but is it enough?
[16:35 CET 24-02] NETHERLANDS - Dutch minister of social affairs and labour Piet Hein Donner has confirmed he will allow pension funds with a funding shortfall – now approximately half of all Dutch funds – to have up to five years to bring their solvency ratios up to 105%, rather than the three years the Dutch Pension Ac currently prescribes.
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Hedge funds and private equity win in diversity push
[16:30 CET 24-02] UK – Pensions funds chose to further diversify their asset allocation strategies last year by investing more of their assets in direct hedge funds and direct private equity while reducing the search for real estate managers, suggests a review of Watson Wyatt’s manager selections.
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Lancashire cancels manager search
[14:30 CET 24-02] UK – Lancashire County Council has agreed to defer the appointment of an enhanced index-tracking manager for its £3.3bn (€3.8bn) pension fund, as officials say performance is "not compelling".
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Norway tenders ethical research mandate
[13:30 CET 24-02] NORWAY – The Ministry of Finance is seeking to establish a framework agreement relating to research of companies included in the investment portfolio of the Government Pension Fund – Global.
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Rail union threatens strike over pension changes
[13:15 CET 24-02] UK – Around 7,000 UK railway workers are being encouraged to vote in favour of industrial action as unions claim Network Rail is planning to introduce a “two-tier” pension scheme for workers.
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Merseyside awards European mandate to Unigestion
[15:50 CET 23-02] UK – Wirral Borough Council has formally confirmed the appointment of Unigestion as a European equity manager for the £3.7bn (€4.2bn) Merseyside Pension Fund.
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Local government pensions consider investing in schools
[15:45 CET 23-02] UK – UK local authority pension funds officials have been in discussions with a quasi-government body about the prospect of investing in the building of UK schools through private finance initiatives (PFIs).
