Latest analysis – Page 37
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Features
Netherlands: Actors take centre stage at pensions debate
Dutch pensions experts and the actors Gijs Scholten van Aschat and Jacqueline Blom shared the stage of theatre Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam for a theatrical debate about pensions last month
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Features2016 Returns: Bounce-back time for European pension funds
European pension providers have begun reporting full-year returns for 2016, with several having fared better with their investments than the year before.
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Features
British Steel Pension Scheme: A pensions paradox
The £15bn (€17.6bn) British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) presents a paradox for the authorities in the UK
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from Brussels: Resaver’s first stage kicks off
The European Commission’s project to set up a pension scheme for research and development professionals whose careers take them across EU borders has finally reached its first stages of operation.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Boomer balancing act
In the US, the oldest baby boomers recently turned 70. That is also a turning point for the US pensions industry. In fact, Americans at that age have to start withdrawing from tax-deferred savings plans, or face a penalty
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AnalysisAnalysis: UK targets radical aid for ‘just about managing’ schemes
Funds struggling to close deficits will require unprecedented actions from industry and government
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from Brussels: Unclear on clearance
The prolongation for 18 months of pension funds’ exemption from posting collateral when trading over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives is leading PensionsEurope to seek clarification.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from the US: Irresistible incentives?
Global pension funds are looking with interest at the $1trn (€960bn) Trump Private Sector Financing Plan for infrastructure construction. It could offer an opportunity for investors seeking stable, cash-generating investments.
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FeaturesFrom Our Perspective: Packaging pensions ‘just right’
In 2001, the Myners report raised the issue of the investment value chain and how pension funds could improve outcomes through their governance structure. It also highlighted market inefficiencies in areas like peer-group herding and investment consulting. The interaction between fiduciary duty and the provision of institutional investment services had not been explored so extensively before and the report resonated widely outside the UK.
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Analysis
Analysis: Dutch funds escape cut threat – for now
Almost all Dutch pension funds, including the largest five, have made a miraculous escape. For the majority of 2016 they were headed for widespread rights cuts
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Analysis
Analysis: Norges Bank - Looking before leaping
The Norwegian government is having to make up the rules for the NOK7.5trn (€826bn) Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) as it goes along. One of the principles appearing to guide lawmakers in this process is building up as much expertise as possible before doing something new.
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Features
Pensions Accounting: Working together
The out-going chairwoman of the US Securities & Exchange Commission, Mary Jo White, wants her successor to do what competing priorities left her unable to do: keep interest in global accounting standards alive. The end game is a possible shift by US domestic companies to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
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FeaturesFrom Our Perspective: FCA raises the game
In 2001, the Myners report raised the issue of the investment value chain and how pension funds could improve outcomes through their governance structure. It also highlighted market inefficiencies in areas like peer-group herding and investment consulting
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Features
Dutch Pensions Federation backs proposals for new system
The long-running debate in the Netherlands over how to build a sustainable and acceptable pension system has taken another step towards its final destination
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Features
UK Financial Conduct Authority seeks to regulate consultants
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seeking regulatory powers over investment consultants following a damning review of the sector
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Features
German Reforms: A brave new world
Just before Christmas, the only real opposition to the German government’s second-pillar reform draft came from the insurance sector. Not publically, mind you. In a statement, it “welcomed the reform in principle”
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Investors adjust to Trump
Are financial markets too optimistic about the impact of Donald Trump’s administration? That is a big unanswered question in the aftermath of his surprise victory in the presidential election
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from Brussels: EU focus on tax tricks
There is increasing attention in Brussels on company reporting, taxation and offshore financial centres. The G20 and some OECD countries have demanded country-by-country reporting rules for multinational companies with a turnover over €750m
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: State boost to pensions
Next year will start with a new initiative in the US pension fund industry – the launch of the first retirement savings plan created by a state for private-sector employees. Washington State is the pioneer with its Small Business Retirement Savings Marketplace, and it will be followed by other states.
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Features
Who’s afraid of securitisation?
The 1933 Disney animation The Three Little Pigs featured Fiddler and Fifer, who believed their straw houses were safe from a marauding wolf. The movie popularised the song Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf; as readers will be aware, the pigs’ straw houses were not safe from the wolf, who blew them down.
