Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 328
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Features
Diary of an Investor: A tale of two funding ratios
Just before Christmas I met my friend Ronald, who is CEO of the pension fund for forklift truck drivers. We meet for a beer one evening after work in our regular haunt in Utrecht. As usual, Ronald is not a happy man, and as usual, it comes down to numbers.
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Features
Focus Group: Communicating risk to trustees
Over 90% of participants in this month’s Off The Record survey said their fund had an investment committee, while 38% also had a risk committee. Around 28% additionally had other committee structures, such as for pensions, audit, and administration.
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Special Report
Asia’s grand illusions
While the chance of outright conflict is at a long-time low, according to James Barnes, that doesn’t stop nationalistpopulism having deleterious economic effects
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Special Report
Not a straight path
Joseph Mariathasan warns that, while there is much to be optimistic about in China, uncertainties abound – and its own markets may not be the best way to get exposure to its growth
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Special Report
Moving ahead – despite the government
Investors were heartened by 2012’s burst of reform in India, but Joseph Mariathasan writes that this is an unexpected bonus in a market where the dynamism comes from the private sector
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Special Report
Rough diamond or polished gem?
Indonesia has been a stellar performer among Asian markets over recent years, writes Bee-Lin Ang. But it has a history of volatility, and it could be about to deliver another dose
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Special Report
The ultimate frontier
Untapped riches tempt first movers to the newly-opening markets of Burma, reports Bee-Lin Ang, but the risks remain considerable
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Special Report
Absolute Asia
Asia hedge funds still run less money than before 2008, but they increasingly do so locally and in a broader range of strategies. Shirin Ismail and Tricia Sum survey how the industry is evolving to meet the needs of Asian and global institutional investors
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Opinion Pieces
A dozen reasons to be hopeful
The Chinese word for crisis has two characters – ‘danger’ and ‘opportunity’. Holding apparently contradictory ideas together is not easy. So here are 12 reasons to be hopeful in 2013.
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Special Report
Asia reorientates
Sino-Japanese tensions over some tiny islands in the East China Sea are a salutary reminder that fast-growing Asia’s many geopolitical flashpoints can erupt suddenly and with meaningful economic impact. Daniel Ben-Ami delineates the risks – but finds them difficult to manage
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from Brussels: Soup-kitchen future?
There are increasing forecasts of widespread poverty for Europe’s pensioners in future decades. For a start, there are the 60m citizens in the EU who do not have an occupational scheme. Longevity combined with feeble returns on investment, plus millions of young, non-contributing unemployed people, support the forecast of misery.
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Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Battle of the benefits
Obama’s healthcare reform will be the biggest new law affecting US companies in 2013. But will it have an impact on pension funds? Healthcare and retirement benefits are managed separately, but a change in costs for the former will eventually affect the latter.
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Opinion Pieces
Amin Rajan: 'Pension funds demand discipline, but discipline can stifle hedge funds' creativity'
First, the good news: assets under management in hedge funds have not only surpassed their previous peak of around $2trn (€1.6trn) reached in 2007, but they are also likely to attract another trillion dollars by 2016, according to ‘Institutional Investment in Hedge Funds’, a survey by Citi Prime Finance.
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Country Report
Switzerland: To hedge or not to hedge
Nina Roehrbein finds pension funds facing a dilemma over their currency hedging strategy as the Swiss National Bank maintains its floor to the euro
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Country Report
Switzerland: Caution reigns supreme
Andreas Niedermann and Jürgen Rothmund note that Swiss institutions have not abandoned their euro hedge
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Country Report
Switzerland: Design fault
Conflict between active members and retirees, costs and market factors will all drive changes to the Swiss second pillar, according to Barbara Ottawa
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Country Report
Switzerland: Transparency required
The current redistribution of funds from active employed members to pensioners can be traced back to structural deficiencies, argues Gérard Fischer. Introducing separate accounting for active members and pensioners would be an effective move
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Country Report
Switzerland: How to avoid Gloor 2.0
A lack of staff, organisation and control were the main factors contributing to the corruption scandal at the pension fund of the canton of Zurich (BVK), a parliamentary commission has found. Barbara Ottawa asks whether new regulation will actually help prevent future cases
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Country Report
Switzerland: Happy anniversary, OAK
A year into its existence, response to the new Swiss supervisory body, the Oberaufsichtskommission, has been mixed. Some want it to do more, while others would like to hear as little from it as possible, writes Barbara Ottawa
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Special Report
Outlook 2013: Euro Scenarios: Getting prepared
Ben Gunnee considers the back-office and trade infrastructure implications of a country exiting the euro
