All IPE articles in June 2009 (Online) – Page 4

  • Big was not beautiful for private equity in 2008
    News

    Big was not beautiful for private equity in 2008

    2009-06-11T15:40:00Z

    [16:40 CEST 11-06] EUROPE – Investment in European private equity fell last year, according to the European Venture Capital Association but there was capital growth and an increase in smaller equity-centric buyouts – a trend apparently ongoing as Aberdeen’s private equity team has bought out its private equity arm.

  • Auto-enrolment needs more time - NAPF
    News

    Auto-enrolment needs more time - NAPF

    2009-06-11T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CEST 11-06] UK – The National Association of Pension Funds has warned current proposals for auto-enrolment in 2012 are “too rigid” as they give employers insufficient time and flexibility and will lead to higher costs as a result.

  • News

    Northern Rock deficit revised to £60m

    2009-06-11T16:05:00Z

    [17:05 CEST 11-06] UK – Trustees of the Northern Rock Pension Scheme have revised the estimated deficit in the plan down from £100m to £60m (€71m) following a provisional funding agreement with the government, subject to review later in the year.

  • News

    Kensington awards custody mandate

    2009-06-11T16:10:00Z

    [17:10 CEST 11-06] UK – The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) has appointed Northern Trust as the custodian to its local government pension scheme.

  • News

    Romanian second pillar back on schedule

    2009-06-11T16:15:00Z

    ROMANIA – The IMF has agreed a financial aid package with Romania which will ensure, that the country can return to its original schedule for changes to second pillar contributions and in turn will put in place reforms.

  • News

    Public sector liabilities hit £1.1trn

    2009-06-11T16:20:00Z

    [17:20 CEST 11-06] UK – Unfunded public sector pension liabilities have reached £1.1trn (€1.29trn), according to research by the Policy Exchange, leading to calls for the arrangements to be switched to a funded basis through the creation of a new public sector pension body.

  • BGI purchase makes BlackRock No.1
    News

    BGI purchase makes BlackRock No.1

    2009-06-12T09:50:00Z

    [10:50 CEST 12-06] GLOBAL – BlackRock has today secured the deal to buy Barclays Global Investors and its exchange-traded fund business iShares, making BlackRock the biggest asset manager in the world with over $2.7trn (€1.93trn) in assets under management.

  • News

    Pensions funds buy back into equities

    2009-06-12T15:00:00Z

    [16:00 CEST 12-06] NETHERLANDS – Dutch pension funds invested over €21bn in securities again in the first quarter of this year, though the bulk of that money headed for bonds and the purchase of equities did not offset losses, figures from the pensions regulator have revealed.

  • News

    Merseyside drops 17.7% in 2008-09

    2009-06-12T15:55:00Z

    [16:55 CEST 12-06] UK – The Merseyside Pension Fund posted an annual return of -17.7% for the year ending March 2009, equivalent to a decline of £800m (€938m).

  • Independence is the future of asset management - Barclays
    News

    Independence is the future of asset management - Barclays

    2009-06-12T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CEST 12-06] GLOBAL – The independence of asset management firms will become increasingly important and will drive further consolidation over the long-term, according to Barclays’ senior executives.

  • Germany's PSV levy could quadruple
    News

    Germany's PSV levy could quadruple

    2009-06-12T16:10:00Z

    [17:05 CEST 12-06] GERMANY – German employers with book reserve pension schemes could face a fourfold increase in the levy they pay into the pension protection association (PSV) next year, IPE has learnt.

  • Strathclyde deficit hits £2.6bn
    News

    Strathclyde deficit hits £2.6bn

    2009-06-12T16:15:00Z

    [17:15 CEST 12-06] UK – Strathclyde Pension Fund is moving forward with changes to its investment strategy, with the appointment of two absolute return bond managers and a tender search for a transition manager, as its deficit hits £2.6bn (€3.04bn).

  • News

    Britannia files high court claim against advisers

    2009-06-12T16:15:00Z

    [17:15 CEST 12-06] UK – The pension fund of the Britannia Building Society has filed a High Court claim against some of its advisers related to allegedly negligent equalisation advice.

  • Scots gov't to pay for backdated police pensions
    News

    Scots gov't to pay for backdated police pensions

    2009-06-12T16:15:00Z

    [17:15 CEST 12-06] UK – The Scottish government has confirmed it will pay an additional £20m (€23.4m) to fund the cost of backdating police pension commutation arrangements to 1 December 2006 following the results of a judicial review.

  • News

    Work develops to grow environmental ETFs

    2009-06-15T15:20:00Z

    [16:20 CEST 15-06] GLOBAL – FTSE Group has launched a fresh series of classifications and support tools which are designed to help investors identify companies providing environmental technolofy products and services, which could soon lead to the growth of environmental-focused ETFs.

  • Investors predict private equity to suffer
    News

    Investors predict private equity to suffer

    2009-06-15T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 15-06] GLOBAL - The latest Global Private Equity Barometer, a twice-yearly survey of institutional investors in the asset class published by secondaries specialist Coller Capital, paints its gloomiest picture of expectations yet.

  • Victoria to increase activity in corporate bonds
    News

    Victoria to increase activity in corporate bonds

    2009-06-15T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CEST 15-06] AUSTRIA – The €500m Victoria-Volksbanken Pensionskasse intends to raise its exposure to corporate bonds.

  • News

    Lower predicted pension returns would reflect investment risk - OECD

    2009-06-15T16:00:00Z

    [16:00 CEST 15-06] GLOBAL – The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has published fresh evidence suggesting long-term investment returns will have to be revised downwards, as equally weighted portfolios can only 9% returns in jut 10% of cases.

  • Ireland unveils uni pension transfer details
    News

    Ireland unveils uni pension transfer details

    2009-06-15T16:05:00Z

    [17:05 CEST 15-06] IRELAND – A government Bill outlining provisions for the transfer of assets from 14 university and state body pension schemes to the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) has confirmed the value of the assets will offset government contributions to the fund.

  • 'Prudent' pension accounting adds £40bn
    News

    'Prudent' pension accounting adds £40bn

    2009-06-15T16:10:00Z

    [17:10 CEST 15-06] UK – The voluntary adoption of prudent accounting assumptions when calculating pension liabilities has already added an additional £40bn (€47bn) onto UK company balance sheets, and future changes to accounting rules could impact companies by a further £70bn, KPMG has warned.