Latest analysis – Page 31
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Opinion PiecesBanking on life after politics
At 49, Brian Hayes is young man by political standards. Having started in Irish politics early with his appointment to the Irish Senate in the mid 1990s, Hayes was elected to the Dáil, the lower house, before he was 30, taking a seat for the Fine Gail party.
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Opinion PiecesIs BlackRock set to revive annuities?
What can happen if the largest global asset manager teams up with the largest software company, which also happen to be the first and second largest companies in the world by market cap?
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AnalysisAnalysis: First estimates of UK equality ruling costs emerge
Equalising guaranteed minimum pensions estimated to cost between 0.2% and 1.7% of liabilities, according to early company estimates
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FeaturesDouble standards on trade
No wonder the discussion of trade is in such a tangle. The terminology around the subject is almost designed to cause confusion.
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FeaturesInvesting is not a zero-sum game
The rampant bull market of the past decade could already be a thing of the past and institutional investors are understandably nervous about the future
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FeaturesHow far should auto-enrolment go?
Some are contemplating whether auto-enrolment into pension funds could be expanded to help savers in other areas of their financial lives
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Features
Accounting Matters: Full agenda for 2019
German DB plan sponsors might be busily acquainting themselves with new longevity tables, while in the UK there is really only one question on some accountants’ minds – GMP equalisation
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FeaturesExit Interview: Peter Hansson
Peter Hansson, former CEO of Sparinstitutens Pensionskassa, decided to retire after 25 years with the pension fund for savings institutions in Sweden as new regulatory changes loom
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FeaturesResearch - Europe: Investors braced for an era of lower returns and higher volatility
In the second of three articles on a new survey, Pascal Blanque and Amin Rajan argue that pension investors are adapting to challenges that go beyond the realms of a maturing business cycle
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Opinion PiecesBrussels People – Lieve Wierinck: Building on Europe’s scientific base
Lieve Wierinck’s main political passion is ensuring the EU takes full practical advantage of Europe’s excellent scientific base
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FeaturesLiabilities remain in focus
Given overall pressure on funding rates and falling asset markets, 2019 looks set to be a year where good governance and adaptability to external events will be crucial
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FeaturesThe right tool for the job
Applying economics models to understand politics is like trying to use a trowel to saw a piece of wood in half
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FeaturesInterest rates are not a one-sided risk
Pension funds should always act as long-term investors whenever possible
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FeaturesChecking back on 2018
In January, in this column, I highlighted areas to watch for 2018. In the spirit of holding myself to account, it’s time to see how they panned out
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FeaturesDutch reform: ‘Complexity and stubbornness killing world’s best pensions system’
Despite ranking as the world’s best in the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension index, the Netherlands’ pensions system is being hit by too much complexity and ineffective regulation
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FeaturesIPE Expectations Indicator: December 2018
At times we aim to find the mountains within the molehills of manager expectation shifts. In our defence, any curvature is worthy of recognition. Sometimes, changes (or lack thereof) come along that are worth diving into. In the prior survey, it was the four-month lack of change within the high sentiment toward US equity markets to rise that was significant. During the current period, hyperbole aside, change has come.
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Features
How do investors view the future of the EU economy?
Cyclical recovery or secular healing? That is the big question behind the European Union’s economic bounce after its ‘lost decade’ – the toughest period since the founding of its predecessor, the European Economic Community, in 1957.
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Features
Accounting Matters: The audit F-word
Increased incidence of accounting fraud raises questions about UK audit standards
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: REITS a good long-term bet, says study
Investors have lost some of their enthusiasm for US REITs – real-estate investment trusts – after their poor performance in the third quarter. From July to September, the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs index gained 0.5%, compared with a 7.6% return for S&P 500 over the same period. The return of the REITs index has trailed behind S&P 500 by more than seven percentage points for the first three quarters of the year.
