IPE's EU Coverage – Page 5
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Asset Class ReportsEquities – Investing in the midst of Europe’s gloom
Healthcare and luxury brands are two sectors with potential to stand out in an otherwise gloomy macro environment
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Opinion PiecesDutch pensions reform: A never ending story
In the last two years, nearly all my contributions for this section have been about the ongoing reform of the Dutch pension system, which will involve the transfer of defined-benefit (DB) accruals to a defined-contribution (DC) setting.
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FeaturesEuropean pension dashboard in the starting blocks
The European Tracking Service for pensions has been years in the making but is now set for a rollout, to be completed by 2027
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FeaturesUS dollar strength and the issues facing institutional investors
Most central banks across the world are raising interest rates – some more aggressively than others – but it is proving hard for any of them to out-hike the US Federal Reserve. The resulting widening interest rate differentials have been an important factor in the appreciation of the US currency.
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NewsVolume of EU financial regulation seems out of control, says Danish lobby
IPD launches five proposals for better EU regulation
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NewsEuropean supervisors call for input on greenwashing to inform work
EBA, EIOPA and ESMA say they need to understand which areas might be more prone to greenwashing risks
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Opinion PiecesNext up for Switzerland: second pillar reform?
The narrow majority of Swiss citizens voting to reform the country’s statutory (AHV) pension system in a referendum on 23 September (52.2%) could create momentum to bring about changes to the second pillar.
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FeaturesUK LDI woes raise wider European questions
Turmoil in UK Gilt markets has forced continental European pension industries to review their risk management strategies
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Special ReportETFs Guide 2022: Better tax treatment could prompt European ETF takeoff
First the good news: Globally, investment in ETFs continues to surge, with the first half of 2022 seeing the second highest inflows on record. The flexibility and ease of access they offer helped them play an instrumental role achieving the highest volume fixed income trading day being recorded in June, as $58bn of assets were moved from EM debt and high yield into government bonds (see p7). This helped cement ETFs’ position as an essential tool of the fixed income ecosystem.
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Opinion PiecesSolvency II: Rule changes can’t force risk taking
Changing the rules can often seem like a very sensible policy choice – whether a sweeping deregulatory reform or more of a technocratic adjustment to regulations.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Berlin: The German way to supervise the EU Taxonomy
The German financial supervisory authority, BaFin, has chosen its own path to deal with the EU taxonomy – in particular when it comes to nuclear and gas.
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FeaturesPension funds continue their focus on ESG social issues
Before the year is over, European policymakers are expected to announce their decision to shelve plans for a social taxonomy.
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Special ReportPost-Brexit flux in Europe
Although Brexit has changed the dynamics of the European asset management landscape, the checklist for choosing a location for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) has not altered: a solid legislative foundation, requisite skillsets, favourable tax treatment and cross-border distribution acumen.
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NewsEuropean pensions sector fails to use clout in green finance policymaking
Think tank finds that though many European pension funds stand out in climate engagement with stocks they own, they are generally not actively influencing policy
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Opinion PiecesESG Viewpoint: Article 9 of SFDR – the new green lodestar?
Regrettably, the EU’s Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities has gone from proposing “real change” to “may be imperfect”. These are the polite words of EU financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness. Less politely, Greta Thunberg judged that the taxonomy simply “takes greenwashing to a completely new level [since t]he people in power do not even pretend to care any more. They just label fossil gas as green and nuclear waste as pollution controllable over the next 100,000 years.”
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Opinion PiecesGuest viewpoint: Pension funds and the EU’s sustainability agenda
The European Commission’s Sustainable Finance Strategy, published in summer 2021, sets out how it will support the EU Green Deal and Europe’s transition to carbon neutrality by 2050.
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FeaturesEuro peripheral spreads
Just over a decade ago, Mario Draghi, then President of the ECB, gave a speech in which he uttered the famous words: “.…the European Central Bank [ECB] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro”, a phrase often credited with hauling Europe out of the depths of its sovereign debt crisis.
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NewsSchroders identifies persistence in private equity returns [updated]
Research by Schroders Capital finds that past performance could be more instructive for some parts of the private equity market than others
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NewsNorway’s SWF joins ESMA in call for pragmatism in EU corporate sustainability rules
NBIM advocates fewer disclosure metrics and more focus on key data likely to be valuable to users
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FeaturesA flawed EU crypto regulatory framework
The EU will soon have a specific regulatory framework for crypto currencies and markets. Under proposals soon to be adopted, only crypto coins authorised in the EU will be allowed to be offered to investors. But crypto assets and exchanges will have a very light supervisory regime, much less than what is in place for financial instruments and exchanges. This raises the question about the rationale for distinct rules. This question is even more acute in the context of the big decline in the crypto markets over the past weeks.
