Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 428
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Country ReportOpting not to rebalance
Pension funds see their key asset managers forced to ask for government bailouts and many funds are holding new contributions in cash, finds George Coats
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Country ReportRefocusing on the first pillar
Belgium’s new pensions minister has set up a National Pensions Conference to re-examine the whole issue. But she is not an admirer of the second pillar, finds George Coats
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Features
Uprating benefits
Recent falls in interest rates have also affected pension funds that enhance members’ benefits through indexing or guarantees. Gail Moss charts how funds in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland are affected
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FeaturesMake the portfolio sweat
Liam Kennedy spoke to the BVK’s Daniel Just and André Heimrich about the progress they are making with their diversification programme
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Features
In-house tactics
Nina Röhrbein spoke to Timo Ritakallio, deputy CEO and head of investments at Ilmarinen, Finland’s oldest mutual insurance company, about how its investment strategy is coping with the financial crisis
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FeaturesDeath of common sense
In his final article on a new report, Amin Rajan concludes that without a sea change in the existing practices, pension funds will continue to stumble from one crisis to another
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Features
The OCI trap
At its 23 January meeting, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) voted to scrap the options in IAS19 that allow pension plan sponsors to defer the recognition of what are often referred to as actuarial gains and losses in a entity’s profit or loss account.
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Features
Returns: looking bleak
Evidence is now emerging of just how tough a year 2008 was for pension funds. Individual schemes have begun to report their investment results and the division between those who favour equities over bonds and liability-driven investment strategies is becoming all too apparent.
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FeaturesConvertibles: why now?
Convertible bonds as an asset class had one of the worst years in their history in 2008.
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Features
How convertible securities are valued
Convertibles’ hybrid nature presents valuation challenges and trading opportunities, says Joseph Mariathasan
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FeaturesInvestor case study: APG
The Dutch giant is not about to turn away from convertibles as a way to tap into equity upside while retaining some downside protection in a falling market, says Lynn Strongin Dodds
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FeaturesManager Profile: CAAM
Convertible bonds might be taking a battering from the current crisis but CAAM is banking on its experience in the sector to see it through, finds Lynn Strongin Dodds
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Features
The old ways are out
Convertible bond issues have been thin on the ground in this recession, but sooner or later even highly-rated large-caps may tap the market for refinancing, says Lynn Strongin Dodds
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FeaturesStrategy refuses to be written off
Unexpected market events may have once more severely affected convertible arbitrage but the strategy continues to hold attractions for institutional investors, finds David White
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Features
Diary of an Investor: Nelson’s telescope
A phone call from Alan, my Wasserdicht colleague in England. ‘Pieter, we all have been visited by the FSA and it is not good.’ ‘What is not good?’ ‘We have this thing in the UK called ‘governance’ and pension funds are being blamed for not exercising enough of it, and this inaction has helped fuel the financial turmoil and market downturn.’
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FeaturesA very private affair
Listed equities have fallen out of favour with most European pension funds since the financial crisis struck last year. How has private equity fared?
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FeaturesExit Interview
Alick Stevenson recently retired as director of investments at the UK’s £3bn (€3.24bn) Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund, after six and a half years
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FeaturesIt’s good to talk
As pension fund investment within the sphere of alternatives grows, David White reports on an innovative platform designed to educate managers about the field through the medium of shared experience
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InterviewsKeeping it real
Ask pension fund managers what are the risks that keep them awake at night, and they will probably start with longevity.Close behind will be interest rates and inflation.
