All IPE articles in July 2001 (Magazine) – Page 3

  • Features

    Modest gains only on cards

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    The major valuation anomalies of the past few years – equities overpriced relative to bonds, TMT (technology-media-telecommunications) stocks overpriced relative to other stocks, and large-capitalisation stocks overpriced relative to small-capitalisation stocks – have been largely eliminated. Most equity and bond markets are now trading close to fair value, as are ...

  • Features

    Slicing up the European cake

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    Northern Trust, the custodian with E1.9trn in assets at the close of last year, showed its larger competitors up in 2000 by winning E225bn in new business worldwide, E70bn of which originated from Europe. Significant wins last year include appointments from Akzo Nobel, both in the UK and the Netherlands, ...

  • Features

    DC to drive fund business forward

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    One of the largest and more sophisticated fund management markets in the world, the strongly-equity oriented UK market, has been providing its highly developed pension fund industry with a broad a range on investment vehicles for a long time. Whether pension funds opt to invest in segregated accounts or choose ...

  • Features

    Bringing life to Italy's post office

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    Erik Stattin is an unusual occupant of an executive’s chair in the traditional world of Italy’s postal service. But then Posteitaliane is less and less its traditional self with each mail delivery – witness its very successful life assurance operation Postevita, which he runs. Now pensions business is on his ...

  • Features

    EMAC's surprise boost for directive

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    There is light at the end of the seemingly perpetual European pensions directive tunnel. The unanimous vote of the European Monetary Affairs Committee (EMAC) on June 19 to adopt the Karas report on the occupational pensions directive, brings the possibility of a supporting vote by the European Parliament a decisive ...

  • Features

    Consultants on the block

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    Consultants are getting a taste of their own medicine, in the form of a manager selection performance measurement scheme launched by the WM Company, the UK-based performance measurement and investment administration firm. But some consultants have chosen to put themselves in the spotlight, says Peter Warrington, executive director at WM, ...

  • Features

    Europe's biggest LTCI market

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    Long-term care insurance (LTCI) is booming in France: the market has grown by almost 50% in the last 18 months. Everything is relative, of course, and total sales amount to just 750,000 policies sold, and that is over a 15-year period. Although LTCI policies have been around for a long ...

  • Features

    Driven by 'Best Value'

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    Since Best Value came into force last year, UK local authorities (LAs) have been required to provide quality of services at the right price in all areas related to administration, functioning and investment strategies by putting into place clear standards of cost and quality, using the most efficient and effective ...

  • Features

    Belgacom widens net

    July 2001 (Magazine)

  • Features

    London 'back on front foot'

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    The London Stock Exchange, often seen to follow rather than lead, took rivals by surprise in May with the announcement of plans for its own listing, alongside the first signs of a real ‘European strategy’. Commenting on the announcement of the intention to list, Don Cruickshank, chairman of the exchange, ...

  • Features

    Complexity may hold back new plans' growth

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    The pension reform known as the ‘Riester package’ will be implemented with amendments to some 19 laws, and by introducing one new law for the certification of pension products for the third pillar. Most important is the introduction of a system of tax allowances and direct subsidies, which will be ...

  • Features

    Avoid the real high risk zone

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    Benchmark. The very word sounds solid and reliable. Obsessive attention to tracking error, though, perpetuated by the more emotive term ‘benchmark risk’, leaves the underlying structure unscrutinised. So while there is a belief that a small tracking error provides safety, little thought is given to the risk associated with the ...

  • Features

    S&P futures span Atlantic

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    Standard & Poor’s, in conjunction with two derivatives exchanges, announced the launch of futures and options on the S&P Europe 350 index and on three of its industry sectors. The three sectors are the financial, information technology and telecom services. Spanish futures and options exchange MEFF and the Chicago Mercantile ...

  • Features

    Euro assets under cloud

    July 2001 (Magazine)

    Inflationary pressures, stagnant interest rates and an ever weakening euro are keeping investors out of Europe, leading to a lack of consumer confidence and keeping the markets across Euroland on an ever downward spiral. “Inflation in particular is becoming more of a serious issue,” says Harald Sporleder, a European fund ...

  • Features

    A closer approximation

    July 2001 (Magazine)

  • Features

    Still waiting for answers

    July 2001 (Magazine)