Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 431
-
Special ReportYou’ve got mail
IPE asked pension funds in Austria, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands: ‘How are you communicating with your members?’
-
FeaturesPutting off mañana
Although the leading political parties agree they should revisit the Toledo pact that is the basic text of Spain’s pensions reform, they have yet to agree when. And pensions are just not on the current government’s agenda, writes George Coats
-
FeaturesMoves to maintain the balance
Spain’s €57bn reserve fund is intended to help plug the anticipated deficit in the social security budget. Diego Valero Carreras explains the background
-
Features
Filling in the GAAP
Spain has introduced new accounting rules. Guillermo Ezcurra explains how the new regulation is organised and identifies which parts are relevant to pensions accounting
-
Special ReportSupervision of Portugal’s market
New regulations came into force last year. Gert Verheij assesses their implementation at a challenging time for pension funds and their sponsors
-
Special ReportGetting the correct balance
Javier Aibar Bernard is the general director of the Social Security Treasury, which oversees Spain’s €55.9m Reserve Fund, the Fondo de Reserva de la Seguridad Social (FRSS). He explains to George Coats how the fund is run and discusses its ability to fulfil its role
-
FeaturesRediscover common sense virtues
In the second in a series of articles on a new report, Amin Rajan argues that asset allocation is more about mindsets than models, as pension funds move from calendar time to real time
-
Features
An area that needs more light
Pension funds should be more concerned about investment managers’ asset allocation skill, but there’s no easy way to measure it, says Joseph Mariathasan
-
FeaturesNow for the hard work
The credit crunch has finally exploded in the face of European pension funds. Georg Inderst looks at the problems this has created as investment managers make asset allocation decisions and offers potential solutions
-
FeaturesAdvantages of a naïve approach
Dirk Soehnholz and Marcus Burkert find that ‘naïve’ strategic asset allocation offers improved risk/return characteristics over traditional ‘pseudo-optimised’ asset allocation
-
FeaturesA driving interest in convertible hybrids
Convertibles are on the agenda. They played a leading role in financing the US railroad boom of the start of the 20th century, and in Japan in the 1980s when the countr y’s issuance represented 40% of the global convertible market. Bank recapitalisation will involve them. Goldman Sach’s agreement with ...
-
FeaturesPensions in Obama’s sights
When Barack Obama is inaugurated as president in January 2009, provisions affecting the pension fund industry could well be an important part of his intended new economic stimulus. But this follows little debate about the retirement system during the campaign, except when US employee’s losses in 401(k) individual accounts were ...
-
Features
Down to nothing
US President Obama has assumed control of a US economy beset by severe economic woes. With companies going bust, factories closing, businesses retrenching, jobs being lost at an unprecedented rate, consumer spending dropping like a stone, house prices tumbling, and homes repossessed, Obama’s task is both monumental and unenviable. Such ...
-
FeaturesThe yoke of uncertainty
In ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, William Shakepseare describes a February face as “full of frost, of storm and cloudiness”. The turning of the year has certainly done little to lift the mood of institutional investors. After briefly warming to risky assets at the end of 2008, 2009 has begun with ...
-
Features
A torrid year
After three months of significant losses, the stock markets managed a positive return (+1.06%) in December, with volatility remaining high (40%), albeit down to two-thirds of November’s level. Over the year, the S&P500 index registered a record loss of 37%. Once again, the commodities market registered a double-digit loss (-10.65%), ...
-
Features
Trend-following slows losses
December offered some respite to the hedge fund industry at large from the string of losses seen in the last six months, with the composite Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index finishing the month up 0.9%. Funds of funds, however, returned -0.7% on average. December has traditionally been a positive month for ...
-
Features
A two-way street
Nina Röhrbein spoke to Edwin Meysmans, managing director of Pensioenfonds KBC, about running a two-tier pension scheme and the different investment strategies necessary
-
Features
Euro-zone challenges
The massive rise in debt issuance is posing problems for European government bond markets, finds Joseph Mariathasan
-
Asset Class Reports
Dazed and confused
The causes and impact of the convulsions that have rocked the bond market for the last couple of years will be the subject of doctoral theses for generations to come. Joseph Mariathasan sketches out a first draft
-
FeaturesThe market challenge of insurance
Sarah Dudney outlines success factors critical for asset managers operating in the insurance industry
