IPE's Germany Coverage – Page 79
-
Features
Flying through turbulence
Germany’s largest investment consultant Feri reckons it is on track again after a takeover and adopting a new strategy. Jan Wagner reports
-
Features
All change for the London/Berlin express
Listed real estate is looking good but everyone’s holding their breath for German and British REITs. Jan Wagner reports
-
Features
Lifting the veil in Germany
Frankfurt was the location last July for the first meeting between the asset managers and the consultants who act intermediaries between the investment sector and institutional investors. This meeting had been arranged by our organisation for a good reason. The situation of the German market is undergoing substantial change. The ...
-
Features
A growing appetite
Contrary to the negative impression given by the German financial press private equity investment in Germany is becoming more popular, according to new research.Francesco di Valmarana and Joanna Jordan look at the numbers
-
Features
Smoke and mirrors world of TAA
There have been rapid product developments in tactical asset allocation in Germany in recent times which have raised questions and challenges for managers, as Torsten Köpke reports
-
Features
Allocating Pensionskassen assets
Just how do these traditional pensions vehicles organise their portfolios? Jan Wagner investigates
-
Features
Germany prepares for DC era
Companies currently offering DB pensions in Germany are set to move over to DC in the near future, writes Jan Wagner
-
Features
From hedging too to asset class
Where does the German pension investor place currency management today and what trends are emerging? Bernd Haferstock examines the investment vehicles, their goals and the legal framework in which they operate, and assesses where there is room for improvement
-
News
€10bn German public scheme VBL streamlines
GERMANY – The Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder, a €10bn pension fund for public sector employees, plans to streamline its operations to boost efficiency.
-
Features
Pyramid structure provides solid foundations
Two special characteristics led to Germany’s Nordrheinische Aertzeversorgung (NAEV), the North Rhine Doctors’ Pension Scheme, entering and winning IPE’s coveted themed award for property investments: the restructuring of its real estate portfolio and its risk-adjusted asset allocation strategy. Founded in 1959 in the densely populated and highly industrialised state of ...
-
Features
Moving into uncharted waters
As the yields on long-term lending shrink, it becomes harder for active managers to justify their fees managing these kinds of investments. Indeed, there is a case for saying that the credit markets in total are not attractive right now for institutions, with even BBB bonds offering just 50-70 basis ...
-
Features
Breaking the stranglehold
One of the myths about Germany is that it is becoming less attractive to foreigners wanting to do business. Spreaders of the myth – typically neo-liberal-minded industrialists, economists and politicians – say that unless Germany lowers its labour costs, cuts its taxes and streamlines its bureaucracy, it will attract fewer ...
-
Features
ETFs find a ready home
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are currently enjoying a significant boom in the US. After the initial domination of the area by institutional investors, retail investors have now discovered the advantages of this product. In the US currently, 171 products with $243bn (e201bn) in assets under management are listed by eight ...
-
Features
Don't write Germany off
Speaking in Brussels in June, former German junior finance minister and World Bank managing director Caio Koch-Weser, admitted that the dream of bringing the financial centre of Europe to the economic centre was still just that. “Germany as a financial services location ‘Finanzstandort Deutschland’ is…still a long way from having ...
-
Features
Uni-directional world of funds
In Germany, institutional investors are increasingly turning away from Spezialfonds in favour of mutual funds. Experts say this is largely because of the onerous reporting requirements they have to adhere to when invested in Spezialfonds, but there are other factors at play too. “Three or four years ago, there were ...
-
Features
Hedge funds - too late again?
Germany introduced an innovative hedge fund regulation on 1 January last year. But German investors, including institutions, have yet to invest significantly in hedge funds, while international institutional investors are increasing their exposure to hedge funds and are even being attracted by German-regulated hedge funds. Are Germans missing the boat ...
-
Features
Pensions in a state of insecurity
Norbert Blüm, a former Conservative labour minister, once committed one of Germany’s best-known political gaffes by claiming that the state pension was “secure”. While Blüm had good intentions – meaning to say that payment of some pension was guaranteed – he probably should have realised that his remark would be ...
-
Features
Makeover for the tried and true
It has been a bumper year for German investors so far. Global equities up about 16%, European equities a percentage point higher and even doughty European fixed income has returned 5%. But in spite of the markets’ generosity, providers are still banging the drum for innovation. They fear that unless ...
