Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 364
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Opinion Pieces
Saving, the Texas way
Galveston County, Texas, is no longer famous solely for the hurricane that devastated the area killing an estimated 8,000 people in September 1908, the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the US. Now the county is cited as an alternative ‘Texas’ model for fixing Social Security.
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Features
Still as safe as houses?
Denmark’s mortgage bonds have never defaulted – in 215 years. Rachel Fixsen reports on why questions are suddenly being asked
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Features
Mariska van der Westen: Just who can you trust?
In the Netherlands, as elsewhere, the trustee model has come under intense scrutiny after the credit crisis. Dutch pension funds lost €120bn in 2008, €20bn of which can be chalked up to poor execution, the so-called ‘implementation shortfall’. Studies have found that trustee boards often lack the knowledge and expertise ...
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Features
Swiss funds welcome minimum exchange rate
The recent falls in equity and bond markets – added to the losses from foreign exchange risks – have caused Swiss pension funds to shiver in recent months. But the decision taken by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on 6 September to set a minimum exchange rate of CHF1.20 to ...
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Features
ATP judges NOW is the time to enter the UK
ATP’s confirmation that it will be moving into the UK pension market was not, in itself, surprising. As anticipated, Morten Nilsson – now both head of ATP’s international operations and the chief executive-elect for its UK entity NOW Pensions – announced that the defined contribution (DC) scheme’s assets would be ...
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Country Report
Spain: Shift from conventional assets?
Some see diversification as a trump card as they weather domestic and global economic turbulence, writes Cecile Sourbes
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Country Report
Spain: The pensions piggy bank
Spain’s heavily indebted regional communities are in pursuit of the €65bn Social Security Reserve Fund. Some think that might not be such a good idea, writes Jim Robinson
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Country Report
Spain: Lessons from Chile
Enrique Munita and Inigo Sagardoy outline aspects of Chile’s funded pension system that might apply to Spain
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Special ReportGermany: Kandlbinder 2011
Investor faith in Spezialfonds continues after the highest year of inflows since 1998, writes Till Entzian
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Special Report
Germany: Active and domestic
Nina Röhrbein reviews a recent study on Spezialfonds demand from the investor’s perspective
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Special Report
Germany: A new driver
In July, Thomas Richter took over as head of the German asset management association. He tells Barbara Ottawa he wants to improve the industry’s image in retirement provision
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Special Report
Germany: Investing in investors
Martin Steward asked Michael Klimek about his company’s innovative co-operation model in investment management
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Special Report
Germany: Lone wolf
Martin Steward meets a manager offering an unusual combination of small-cap and absolute-return option strategies
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Special Report
Germany: Long-term growth
The overall DAX pension funding level has risen slightly, according to Thomas Jasper and Alf Gohdes
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Asset Class Reports
Sovereign Bonds: Old certainties crumble
Politics, not economic fundamentals, will determine the future of the developed world’s bond markets. Joseph Mariathasan finds this causing fixed income managers untold headaches
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Asset Class Reports
Sovereign Bonds: Over-priced, over-exposed…
…over my dead body? Despite other options, Martin Steward finds pension funds struggling to let go of core government bonds
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Asset Class Reports
Sovereign Bonds: Dodging bullets
The US downgrade did not rock the foundations of the US Treasury market, and might even have sent a healthy signal to Washington’s elite, writes Emma Cusworth
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Asset Class Reports
Sovereign Bonds: Sustainable sovereigns will pay their way
Balazs Magyar shows that environmental and social, in addition to fiscal sustainability, have had a material effect on sovereign bond returns
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Special Report
Do ESG strategies hurt performance?
Iordanis Chatziprodromou asks if there are identifiable risks associated with general ESG-driven investment strategies
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Country Report
Portugal: The wind of change
Gail Moss assesses pensions policy in Portugal following the bail-out
