All articles by Jan Wagner – Page 6
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Features
Swiss moves to tighten regulation
Better late than never. After months of scandals involving Swiss pension funds, the Berne government has finally woken up. This summer it plans to unveil legislation to improve regulation and corporate governance of Pensionskassen.
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News
Euroclear sets up Frankfurt shop
GERMANY – Euroclear is opening an office in Frankfurt to challenge arch-rival Clearstream more oprenly on its home turf.
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News
Georg Seil and Towers Perrin lose consultants
GERMANY- Georg Seil, chief executive of the eponymous German investment consultancy, has confirmed that two of his senior consultants, including a team leader, are leaving.
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News
Publica faces early retirement costs
SWITZERLAND – Publica, the CHF30bn (€18.5bn) pension fund for Swiss federal employees, may have trouble dealing with costs arisng from some of its members choosing early retirement, a Swiss news report has suggested.
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News
Swiss postal profits used to fund pensions
SWITZERLAND – The Swiss postal service plans to transfer 40% of its CHF837m (€517m) in profits for 2006 to Pensionskasse Post, as the government did not fully capitalise the fund when it was launched.
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News
Bundestag passes G-REITs bill
REAL ESTATE – Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has approved draft law legalising German real estate investments trusts (G-REITs) retroactively from 1 January.
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News
Pensionskassen head criticises BaFin regulation
GERMANY – The current regulation of Pensionskassen is suppressing returns and making diversification difficult, according to Rainer Jakubowski, chief executive of €18bn Pensionskasse BVV.
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News
AGI posts Spezialfonds inflows, DekaBank outflows
GERMANY – AGI, the German arm of Allianz Global Investors said inflows to its institutional funds (Spezialfonds) last year totalled €7.3bn. It added that almost 40% of the volume was pension money from corporates.
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News
Pension benefits raised for the first time since 2003
GERMANY – The 20 million pensioners in Germany are to see their state benefit rise for the first time since 2003, according to social affairs minister Franz Müntefering.
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News
Sarasin poaches Varnholt from Credit Suisse
SWITZERLAND – Bank Sarasin has recruited Burkhard Varnholt, head of financial products and the investment advisory team at Crédit Suisse Private Banking, as its new chief investment officer and asset management head.
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News
German minister hints at concession on deferred compensation
GERMANY – Social affairs minister Franz Müntefering says he’s willing to consider compensation for workers if the government ultimately abolishes a social tax exemption for deferred compensation.
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News
SSgA wins €1.9bn in new German business
GERMANY – State Street Global Advisors’ German arm says it took in €1.9bn in new assets during 2006, around half of which came from new institutional clients, notably pension funds.
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News
Feri loses hedge fund specialists (UPDATED)
GERMANY – FERI Institutional Advisors (FIA), the German investment consultant, has lost its entire hedge fund advisory team, as well as Werner Goricki, the head of the unit, it has emerged. Yesterday, IPE reported that FIA had lost Goricki and two members.
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News
Thomas Steffen elected new CEIOPS chair
EUROPE – The Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pension Supervisors (CEIOPS) has elected Thomas Steffen, Germany’s top insurance regulator, as its new chairman, effective from March 12.
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News
Feri loses hedge fund specialists
GERMANY – Feri Institutional Advisors (FIA), the German investment consultant, has lost two hedge fund specialists. One of them, Werner Goricki, was a managing director with responsibility for hedge fund advising.
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News
Swiss fund steps up shareholder action
SWITZERLAND – Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK), a CHF8.6bn (€5.3bn) pension fund, has become the latest Swiss institutional investor to demand better corporate governance at the nation’s biggest corporates.
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News
Allianz promotes Peters to board
GERMANY – Allianz Global Investors’ German arm says it has promoted Michael Peters to its board where he will act as investment director. The promotion is with immediate effect.
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News
Morgan Stanley gets new European head
EUROPE – James Dilworth, the former German head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, has joined Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) in London as the latter’s new head for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
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News
IMF finds fault with Swiss pension controls
SWITZERLAND – The International Monetary Fund has urged the Swiss government to centralise regulation of Swiss pension funds (Pensionskassen), noting that it would be an effective way of improving the current system.
