Investor Strategy – Page 242
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Pensions on agenda at World Economic Forum
SWITZERLAND – The impact of pensions on government finances and financial markets is on the agenda at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week.
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ABP shrinks in size by 7% to e135.5bn
NETHERLANDS – Hit by falling stock markets, Europe’s largest pension fund, the Dutch civil servants’ ABP, has posted a 7.2% decline in its capital value to 135.5 billion euros – though it sees no reason to change its investment strategy.
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Investment fund assets fall 7.9% in Q3 - Fefsi
GLOBAL – Investment fund assets worldwide dropped 7.9% in the third quarter of 2002, to 10.65 trillion dollars, according to the latest research by Fefsi, the pan-European umbrella organisation of the investment funds industry of the 15 Member States of the EU.
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Dutch pension funds slam PVK requirements
NETHERLANDS – The three main Dutch pension fund bodies have rejected pension fund regulator PVK’s requirements on cover ratios, calling them “unnecessary” and “bad for the economy”.
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Watson says global pension assets decline 12%
GLOBAL – Watson Wyatt says global institutional pension fund assets fell by 12% to 1.4 trillion dollars in 2002, leaving many pension funds in the “difficult predicament” of facing pressure to get their balance sheets back in shape.
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Germany’s BVI in pensions savings tax plea
GERMANY – Capital gains tax on long-term savings will discourage citizens that are preparing for an independent old-age pension, says Stefan Seip, head of the German investment fund association Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management (BVI).
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Green Paper lacking on custody - Northern Trust
UK – Custody services provider Northern Trust says the government’s recent pension reform proposals did not address a key aspect of the Myners report dealing with the independence of custodianship.
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ABN Amro seeks 5% of Belgian pensions market
BELGIUM – Dutch bank ABN Amro has set up a pensions subsidiary in Belgium, with a view to grabbing a 5% share of a market it says will grow by almost 14% in the coming years.
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French bosses back longer pension contributions
FRANCE – The president of the French employers’ organisation Medef, Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, today backed the government’s proposals to increase the length of contributions, saying the level of pensions can only be guaranteed if more contributions are made.
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European private equity down 30% to e27bn
EUROPE – European private equity firms saw the value of funds raised decline by almost 30% in 2002, with the combined total of 27.4 billion euros raised by 57 funds far short of 2001’s 38.2 billion euros, according to private equity research firm AltAssets.
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US fund sponsors’ costs rise 10% - report
US – US pension fund sponsors’ operational costs have risen 10% in the last three years, to almost 0.4% of total assets, according to new research by the Callan Investment Institute – with the rise driven by staff pay and fee rises.
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UK names pension commissioners
UK – The UK government has named a trade union official and an academic as members of a commission investigating pensions policy.
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Swiss Life names SNB’s Gehrig as chairman
SWITZERLAND – Troubled Swiss Life Holding has named Swiss National Bank vice chairman Bruno Gehrig as non-executive chairman, replacing Andres Leuenberger.
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Sweden warns ABN Amro fund unit
SWEDEN – The Swedish financial regulator has warned ABN Amro’s Banco Fonder over violations to investment rules concerning the amount invested in unlisted securities – Banco says it may have mis-read the regulator’s intentions.
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Denmark's e20.5bn PFA seeks sound property deal
DENMARK – The e20.5bn PFA pension fund has agreed to buy the Copenhagen Radiohuset – the home of Danish broadcasting – in a deal for an undisclosed sum from Danish property company, Sjaelsø Gruppen.
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TUC demands seat on UK Pension Commission
UK - The UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called for the government to include it in the line up of a new Pension Commission that will look at the issue of compulsory supplementary pension saving....
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SEB names Lager to head mutual fund unit
SWEDEN – SEB Asset Management has named Cecilia Lager as head of its mutual fund arm, SEB Fonder, replacing Jan Palmberg who is moving to another role within SEB.
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Hermes governance fund wins $100m Calpers backing
EUROPE/US – Calpers, eyeing a “tremendous opportunity”, has approved a 100 million dollar investment in a Hermes corporate governance fund which targets underperforming companies.
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MLIM says it’s still winning European mandates
UK – Merrill Lynch Investment Managers says it is still winning “significant levels" of new mandates across Europe, despite a series of recent losses from UK local authority pension funds and its loss of the Merrill Lynch UK Investment Trust mandate.
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Sweden’s AP3 taps CoreRatings for SRI
SWEDEN – The 13.9 billion euro AP Fonden 3 Swedish pension fund says it has hired consultancy firm CoreRatings to provide socially-responsible investing advice, adding that it will take an active role in the companies in which it invests.
