Investor Strategy – Page 209
-
News
Two regional Icelandic schemes in €312m merger
ICELAND - Two regional Icelandic pensions funds, Sudurnes and Sudurland, plan a merger.
-
News
Suez in Luxembourg pension pooling move
LUXEMBOURG – Kredietbank’s Luxembourg arm says it has launched a €1.1bn pension pooling vehicle for the Suez-Tractebel group.
-
News
Denmark: occupational schemes now ‘dominant’
DENMARK – Occupational pension schemes are taking a “clearly dominant” position in the pension savings market, says the Danish Insurance Association.
-
News
German dentists hire Alpha as consultant
GERMANY - VZB, a Berlin-based pension fund for dentists, says it has hired Alpha Portfolio Advisors as its new investment consultant for its €700m portfolio.
-
News
CSAM hit by €2bn loss of two large accounts
SWITZERLAND – Credit Swiss Asset Management lost CHF3.2bn (€2bn) in assets under management in the fourth quarter – due to the loss of two large accounts.
-
News
European fund body FEFSI becomes EFAMA
EUROPE – FEFSI, the European investment funds body, has officially changed its name to the European Fund and Asset Management Association.
-
News
Dutch doctors implement new accounting system
NETHERLANDS – The €11bn Dutch doctors pension fund SBA has implemented a new portfolio management and accounting system.
-
News
Cominvest sees up to €700m inflows in 2005
GERMANY – The chief executive of Commerzbank’s fund arm Cominvest expects up to €700m in inflows this year – on top of broadly unchanged assets under management in 2004.
-
News
New consolidation moves in Iceland
ICELAND -- Two mergers of Icelandic pension funds have been proposed while the possibility of a third is being discussed.
-
News
Putnam’s investment head Oristaglio retires
US - Steve Oristaglio is to retire as head of investments at Putnam Investments and be replaced by his deputy Kevin Cronin.
-
News
Assets surge NIB’s asset management arm
NETHERLANDS – NIB Capital, the bank owned by the two largest Dutch pension funds ABP and PGGM, said assets under management at its investment management unit rose 70% in 2004.
-
News
New hires at Swiss consultant Ecofin
SWITZERLAND - Ecofin, one of Switzerland’s largest investment consultants, has brought in a pair of new senior advisers and, for the first time, has opened itself up to private banking clients.
-
News
Watson Wyatt restructures Stockholm office
SWEDEN – Watson Wyatt says it is restructuring its Stockholm-based benefits consulting team – with some staff being based in the UK in future.
-
News
Dutch central bank confirms FTK on schedule
NETHERLANDS – The Dutch central bank has reaffirmed that the FTK, the new financial assessment framework for pension schemes, will come in as planned on January 1 2006.
-
News
Ireland’s NPRF to put 18% into new asset classes
IRELAND – The €11.69bn National Pensions Reserve Fund has targeted an 18% allocation to property, private equity and commodities by 2009 – but it will not invest in hedge funds for the moment.
-
News
Rabobank says swaps may ease Dutch FTK impact
NETHERLANDS – Rabobank says the new Dutch FTK, or financial assessment framework, will have a “marked impact” on Dutch pension schemes’ investment policy – and that a swap overlay strategy could be a solution.
-
News
UBS says institutional business almost doubles
SWITZERLAND –UBS said its Global Asset Management arm reported a pre-tax profit increase of 64% in 2004 and that institutional business almost doubled.
-
News
Ireland’s CFOPS outlines shift to specialists
IRELAND – The administrator of the €540m Construction Federation Operatives Pension Scheme has outlined the scheme’s move from balanced managers to specialists.
-
News
UK occupational contributions 'rise 50%'
UK - Employer contributions to occupational schemes have risen almost 50% to £8.3bn (€12bn), according to a survey by Incomes Data Services.
-
News
Ireland sees no scope for pensions complacency
IRELAND – The head of the Irish central bank has said that the country must not get complacent about how it deals with the pensions crisis.
