All articles by Jan Wagner

  • News

    BaFin president to lose power in leadership revamp

    2007-09-20T11:30:00Z

    [12:30 CEST 20-09] GERMANY – Jochen Sanio, president of German financial regulator BaFin, is to lose authority as the government has approved a new leadership structure for the agency.

  • News

    Call for Pensionsfonds' liberalisation

    2007-09-18T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CEST 18-09] GERMANY – Germany’s pensions and insurance industry is lobbying the government to either drop or relax a rule requiring equity-oriented pension funds (Pensionsfonds) be at least 95% funded all of the time.

  • News

    German government sweetens Riester pension

    2007-09-17T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CEST 17-09] GERMANY – The German government will provide additional financial incentives to the so-called “Riester-Rente” from next year, a subsidised third-pillar pension rolled out in early 2002.

  • News

    Grancio to head Indexchange as Fehrenbach resigns

    2007-09-17T15:50:00Z

    [16:50 CEST 17-09] GERMANY – Andreas Fehrenbach, chief executive of Indexchange, is resigning after just one year in his post.

  • News

    Swiss SME scheme reports huge 1H gains

    2007-09-14T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CEST 14-09] SWITZERLAND – Pensionskasse Pro, a pension fund targeted at small- to midsize enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland, has reported huge gains in assets and the number of firms insured for the first half of 2007.

  • News

    DekaBank to launch ETFs for German institutions

    2007-09-13T14:55:00Z

    [13:00 CEST 13/09] GERMANY – DekaBank, the asset manager for German savings banks (Sparkassen), plans to roll out exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for German institutional investors in the first quarter of 2008. The launch is subject to regulatory approval.

  • News

    German state pension "showing signs of strength"

    2007-09-12T14:45:00Z

    GERMANY – Germany’s state pension scheme is showing signs of renewed strength as the ‘so-called’ sustainable reserve is almost three times the legal minimum and the scheme is expected to have a surplus for the full year, pension experts say.

  • News

    Pensions insurance vehicle hit by lawsuit

    2007-09-11T13:00:00Z

    [14:00 CEST 11-09] GERMANY – The Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein (PSV), an association that insures corporate pensions against insolvency, is being sued by some of its employer-members over costs related to its shift from a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing model to a capital-backed one.

  • News

    Constitutional Court approves pensions freeze

    2007-09-10T14:30:00Z

    [15:30 CEST 10-09] GERMANY – Germany’s Constitutional Court has upheld the government’s legal right to freeze state pension benefits for budget reasons and thrown out a lawsuit seeking compensation for earlier freezes.

  • News

    E.ON pension scheme moves into hedge funds

    2007-09-07T13:00:00Z

    [14:00 CEST 07-09] GERMANY – A €5.4bn pension fund for German energy giant E.ON has begun making its first investment in hedge funds, employing both single and fund-of-fund vehicles, market sources have told IPE.

  • News

    Switzerland paves way for Publica’s DC switch

    2007-09-06T13:30:00Z

    SWITZERLAND – The Swiss government has sanctioned the inclusion of 105 employers into Publica, the CHF33bn (€20bn) pension fund for federal employees - clearing the way for the scheme’s switch from defined benefit to defined contribution next year.

  • News

    Switzerland to raise pension savings interest rate

    2007-09-05T12:10:00Z

    [13:10 CEST 05-09] SWITZERLAND – The Swiss government is raising the minimum rate pension funds must credit to paid-in savings to 2.75% from January 1, amid evidence suggesting schemes are earning more on financial markets.

  • Features

    BVK leads the way on diversification

    September 2007 (Magazine)

    The greatest prize for a German asset manager is a mandate from BVK, not necessarily for the fees but the influence it can bring. Jan Wagner asked its chief investment officer Daniel Just how it makes this financial clout work for itself

  • News

    Partners Group posts 27% rise in AuM

    2007-09-04T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CEST 04-09] SWITZERLAND – Partners Group, a Swiss asset manager specialising in alternatives, has reported a 27% increase in assets under management (AuM) and a 69% jump in pre-tax profit for the first half.

  • News

    AVH return slimmed on bond weakness

    2007-09-03T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CEST 03-09] GERMANY – Apothekerversorungswerk Hessen (AVH), a €900m pension fund for pharmacists in the state of Hessen, says underperformance of its fixed income investments was to blame for a decline in its return last year.

  • News

    BPK to increase equity exposure

    2007-08-31T14:30:00Z

    [15:00 CEST 31-08] SWITZERLAND – Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK), a CHF8.7bn (€5.3bn) pension fund for Swiss civil servants, will invest more of its assets in equities – particularly overseas stocks – and cut its fixed income exposure from November 1.

  • News

    Austrian schemes predict positive returns despite market upset

    2007-08-30T15:00:00Z

    [16:00 CEST 30-08] AUSTRIA – Austrian pension schemes should end the year with a "very positive" return despite market turbulence caused by the US sub-prime crisis, according to the FVPK, the pension schemes’ association.

  • News

    BVV expected to hire hedge fund consultant

    2007-08-29T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CEST 29-08] GERMANY – BVV, an €18.6bn pension fund for the German financial industry, is believed to be looking to hire a consultant to advise on future investment in hedge funds.

  • News

    Indictments handed down in Fribourg pensions scandal

    2007-08-28T13:30:00Z

    [14:30 CEST 28-08] SWITZERLAND – A magistrate investigating the past financial woes of the city of Fribourg’s pension fund has indicted the city’s treasurer and three other treasury employees, accusing them of falsifying accounting documents.

  • News

    AGI to sell majority stake in German fund administrator

    2007-08-23T11:30:00Z

    [12:30 CEST 23-08] GERMANY – Allianz Global Investors (AGI) has agreed to sell a 51% stake in fund administration arm Fonds Depotbank to UK securities clearer Xchanging, for an undisclosed sum.