Investor Strategy – Page 178
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Irish schemes shun alternatives - IAPF
IRELAND – Alternative assets such as hedge funds, private equity and currency are “generally unpopular” with the trustees of defined benefit pension funds in Ireland, says the Irish Association of Pension Funds.
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Unilever sets up pension hedge fund vehicle
GLOBAL – Unilever’s pension funds in 42 countries will soon be able to invest into funds of hedge funds via a vehicle created by Unilever Investments (Univest).
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Norway global fund awards seven new mandates
NORWAY – The Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global says it has transferred capital into three new fixed income and four new equity mandates in the third quarter.
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Legal warning over “too safe” LDI
UK – Moving into a safety-first liability-driven investing strategy could leave trustees and actuaries open to negligence claims, a law firm says.
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JP Morgan wins $30bn in UK custody mandates
UK – JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services says it has bagged more than $30bn (€23.4bn, £15.8bn) of new UK pension fund custody assets in the last six months.
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AP7 hopes to find “pure alpha” by January
SWEDEN – The SEK80bn (€8.8bn) Swedish buffer fund AP7, Sjunde AP-fonden, is closing in on its “pure alpha” plans, according executive vice president Richard Grottheim.
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PGGM closer to asset management-admin split
NETHERLANDS - The board of PGGM, the €74.4bn Dutch healthcare scheme, has officially decided to investigate the options of separating its asset management and administration from its pension fund.
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BA in €1.4bn pension deficit bailout
UK – British Airways has agreed to pay up to £950m (€1.4bn) to tackle the £2.1bn deficit in its New Airways Pension Scheme in a 10-year funding deal with trustees.
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ITV may end final salary pension scheme
UK – UK commercial broadcaster ITV, facing a £5bn takeover bid from NTL, is planning to close its €1.758bn (£1.12bn) final salary pension scheme also to existing members, in favour of a career-average scheme.
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S&P says pensions a risk for European banks
EUROPE – Standard & Poor’s says pension obligations still pose significant risk for some western European banks.
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Clwyd scheme tenders commodities, portable alpha
UK – Due to a revamp, the £793m (€1.2bn) Clwyd pension fund, run by Flintshire County Council, is tendering a £15m commodities mandate and is looking for a portable alpha solution, possibly hedge funds.
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Deutsche Bahn considering pension trust
GERMANY – Deutsche Bahn, the operator of Germany’s national railway, is considering creating an external fund – known as a contractual trust arrangement – to finance new managers’ pension liabilities.
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80% of UK funds to alter asset mix – Greenwich
UK – Greenwich Associates says 80% of UK pension funds plan to significantly alter their asset mixes in the next three years.
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Ist-Investmentstiftung cuts domestic bonds
SWITZERLAND – Ist-Investmentstiftung, a major Swiss pension fund with CHF8.3bn (€5.2bn) in assets, has slightly increased exposure to equities and foreign real estate while cutting exposure to domestic bonds.
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Norges chief slams “disguised beta” hedge funds
NORWAY – Knut Kjaer, executive director of Norges Bank Investment Management, which runs the NOK1.5trn (€182bn) Norwegian Pension Fund – Global, says many hedge funds are overpriced beta suppliers.
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Paternoster CEO outlines “keys to success”
UK – Mark Wood, chief executive of Paternoster, has outlined what he terms the keys to the success of the new breed of pension buyout firms.
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Royal Mail scheme chairman joins Synesis
UK – Jane Newell, chairman of the £21bn (€31.3bn) Royal Mail Pension Plan, is to join the board of new pensions annuity firm Synesis Life as a non-executive director.
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More details about ABP’s new Hong Kong office
NETHERLANDS – Dutch pension giant ABP, at €201bn Europe’s largest pension fund, has announced a launch date and the key executives for its new Hong Kong office.
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€30bn London fund merger proposed
UK – A new report will suggest merging London pension schemes into one or two funds with a combined value of approximately £20bn (€30bn), according to a newswire report.
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German institutions ‘asset allocations unchanged’
GERMANY – Insurers and pension funds plan virtually no change to their asset allocation during 2006, meaning that they will remain mostly invested in fixed income, according to a new study unveiled by private equity fund provider CAM.
