IPE's Germany Coverage – Page 77
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News
German employer contributions stabilise at 20%
[13:30 CET 23-11] GERMANY – The German government’s pension report for 2009 has revealed that employer contributions to pensions will remain stable at 19.9 % until 2014, despite the current economic crisis.
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News
Court strengthens insurance-based pension terms
[17:05 CEST 17-09] GERMANY – A German court has ruled that charging upfront fees related to setting up a life insurance contract for corporate pensions is only partly within the legal framework for occupational pensions.
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FeaturesGermany: More paperwork
Low equity exposure, strict regulations regarding guarantees and a rise in actuarial interest rates have left the German pension system relatively unscathed, according to Barbara Ottawa
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Special Report
An alternative to Spezialfonds
Liam Kennedy spoke with Universal Investment about an alternative to the Spezialfonds that could also assist Germany’s first steps towards attracting international pension pooling business
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Special Report
Case for bespoke asset management
Spezialfonds remain a preferred method of investment for institutional investors. But Till Entzian finds that the investment vehicle could be under threat from AIFM guidelines
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Features
Future foundation
Liam Kennedy discussed the investment philosophy of Germany’s VolkswagenStiftung with its CIO, Dieter Lehmann
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News
Third pillar growth unbroken by crisis
[16:15 CEST 31-07] GERMANY/AUSTRIA – Interest in third pillar savings funds has remained high even through the financial crisis, according to both the German investment association BVI and the Austrian regulator FMA.
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News
Union finds corporate bond Spezialfonds in demand
[16:15 CEST 21-07] GERMANY – Frankfurt-based Union Investment saw net inflows of €3.8bn in the first half of 2009.
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News
Consultancy fears pension 'catastrophe'
[17:20 CEST 16-06] GERMANY – Underestimating the long-term effects of the recent financial crisis on pension schemes and measures to counteract it could lead to a “catastrophe” in the second pillar, German consultancy Longial has suggested.
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Country Report
Cross-border developments
The EU Commission has published the findings of a consultancy process on pension solvency it launched last year. Cornelia Schmid assesses the process and outlines the view of the German corporate pension fund association (aba)
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Country Report
Who’s afraid of BilMoG?
As the domestic accounting reform BilMoG passes into legislation, Alfred Gohdes and Nigel Cresswell assess the implications for German corporates
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News
Companies need pension guarantees – VFPK
[17:10 CEST 08-04] GERMANY – Pensionskassen in Germany have survived the second major crisis since their implementation but Peter Hadasch, chairman of the association of company Pensionskassen VFPK, believes there is scope for further growth.
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Country Report
Case for complexity
Liam Kennedy spoke with Dr Boy-Jürgen Andresen, a grandee of German pensions who is shortly to retire as chairman of the board of Watson Wyatt Heissmann
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Country Report
Two pairs of eyes
Clemens Schuerhoff and Hans-Jürgen Dannheisig argue that the German regulatory principles have helped maintain investors’ trust in the asset management and servicing sectors
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Country ReportKeep it simple
Frank Schnattinger gives an overview of the most recent IPE Institutional Investment survey of German investors attitudes and intentions
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Country Report
Funding in a changed world
Liam Kennedy assesses the measures German companies are taking to address pension funding issues and future plan design
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Features
Time is money
Gail Moss looks at German time-value accounts, which provide a model for flexible DC saving and early retirement provision
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FeaturesA horror year for the German fund market
The year 2008 will go down in history as the worst ever for the German fund business. The financial crisis created not only created a catastrophic climate on the financial markets but with it a poor environment for inflows to retail mutual funds and institutional Spezialfonds.
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News
German DB losses lessened by bond rates
[16:00 CET 26-01] GERMANY – German companies saw their pension plans’ assets decline considerably over the last year but a rise in interest rates in the last quarter also helped reduce liabilities, according to a study by consultancy Rauser Towers Perrin (RTP).
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News
Germans claim to believe in long-term profit
[17:05 CET 08-12] GERMANY – Only 10% of Germans have changed their private pension provision on the back of the financial crisis, a survey by JPMorgan has found.
