All IPE articles in June 2008 (Magazine) – Page 2

  • A very nice professional life
    Features

    A very nice professional life

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Gilbert Dewanckele recently retired as company actuary and the actuary at the pension funds of Belgian insurer Vivium, which had assets under management of €2.5bn. He talks to George Coats about his career

  • Indices
    Features

    Indices

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Index for Hong Kong stock market Index service provider China Securities Index (CSI) has developed what it claims is the first market-monitoring index tracking Hong Kong securities. The CSI HK 100 index is designed to reflect the performance of the Hong Kong stock market following the rapid economic integration of ...

  • Longevity index spreads its wings
    Features

    Longevity index spreads its wings

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Faced with ageing members and increasing liabilities, pension funds and other institutional investors are paying greater attention to the risk presented by longevity. And in this environment, JPMorgan’s LifeMetrics index - which claims to be the first international longevity index - is spreading into several countries. As one of three ...

  • Features

    An imbalanced market

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    The UK has the most stringent pension indexation requirements of all the OECD countries. Joseph Mariathasan here points out the pressures that are pushing pension funds towards low-yielding assets such as inflation linkers

  • Holiday season
    Features

    Holiday season

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    In July last year the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit what was then an all time high, closing above 14,000 for the first time. All seemed set fair. Banks were announcing record results, house prices moved inexorably upwards and the former CEO of Citigroup was still cutting a rug. In ...

  • Diminishing the mismatch
    Features

    Diminishing the mismatch

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Fundamental indices could help mend the mismatch between assets and liabilities. David White reports

  • Dealing with inflation
    Features

    Dealing with inflation

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    IPE asked three pension funds – in Austria, Finland and the Netherlands – the same question: ‘How do you protect your investments from inflation?’ Here are their answers:

  • Features

    Dead man walking

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Question: What starts with ‘P’ and ends in chaos? Answer: The International Accounting Standards Board’s Phase I pensions accounting project. It has all been a bad dream. That was the message from the 21 April joint board meeting in London between the IASB and the US Financial Accounting Standards. At ...

  • Taking a leap in the dark
    Features

    Taking a leap in the dark

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    A reform of Greece’s first pillar leaves a lot still to be done, discovers George Coats

  • Features

    Rally in credit

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Yield curve/duration There is a growing consensus that the demise of Bear Stearns, the US investment bank, may have marked the low point of the current financial market problems. Although liquidity remains low and interbank lending is still far from normal, the belief seems to be that the worst of ...

  • The contrarian: deflation
    Features

    The contrarian: deflation

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Inflationary fears are exaggerated according to veteran fixed income specialist Joop Bresser. He spoke to Miranda Schoutsen about his concerns over deflation

  • Phasing in changes
    Special Report

    Phasing in changes

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    A reform package due to be implemented later this year will reduce the burden on the state pension system but falls short of adding a second pillar, says Reeta Paakkinen

  • Inflation buyers: using swaps
    Features

    Inflation buyers: using swaps

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Use of inflation swaps as a hedging tool has grown as pension funds adopt LDI strategies, finds Nina Röhrbein

  • Bringing in the euro
    Special Report

    Bringing in the euro

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Some Cypriot funds have been using this year’s euro accession to professionalise their portfolios, finds George Coats

  • Inflation seller: Øresund Bridge
    Features

    Inflation seller: Øresund Bridge

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    While pension funds, insurers and private investors benefit from lower inflation, public authorities and enterprises, utilities, real estate and distribution companies profit from higher inflation. So, the latter group can benefit from becoming inflation sellers, according to a Fortis Investments reports, ‘Inflation swaps to safeguard future income or hedge against ...

  • Features

    A wait-and-see approach

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    New investment regulations have not had a great impact on Greek funds’ investments, says Reeta Paakkinen

  • Features

    Inflation assets: alternatives from inflation

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Lynn Strongin Dodds looks at the use of alternative assets as a means of protecting against inflation.

  • Squeezed from all sides
    Special Report

    Squeezed from all sides

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Rachel Fixsen reviews the regulatory pressures facing European pension funds

  • Restoring trust in credit rating agencies
    Special Report

    Restoring trust in credit rating agencies

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    Charles Cronin says that credit rating agencies must rebuild investors’ confidence in the way they rate structured products

  • After the turmoil
    Features

    After the turmoil

    June 2008 (Magazine)

    While many investors have been left with severe losses, the massive dislocations raise new opportunities for those brave enough to enter the marketplace, Joseph Mariathasan finds