Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 506
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Features
Japan leads government bonds revival
Yield curve/duration ccording to OECD data, it seems that the G7 economies (US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy and Canada) are in the midst of a slowdown, with the US ‘in the lead’ and the European economies joining the trend most recently. With inflation fears lessening, markets have taken significant ...
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Features
Why currency finds itself in the spotlight
Currency managers have long argued that pension funds need to adopt active currency strategies in a bid to gain alpha. Now, many pension funds agree. Maha Khan Phillips reports
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Features
Currency predictions: do they add value?
In IPE’s March issue, Compendeon’s Erik van Dijk and Harry Geels investigated if the strategists of investment management firms included in IPE’s Investment Managers Expectations survey added value through their bond market predictions. In this article, the authors analyse the added value of forecasts by currency strategists using a similar approach. Once again, they come up with some very interesting conclusions
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Features
The subtleties of the quest for alpha
The search for alpha, the current grail of active investment managers, has obscured the fact that alpha can be either positive or negative. Identifying and removing negative alpha can be as profitable for investors as finding positive alpha. In the current institutional investment climate, that is the strongest argument in ...
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Features
Arnott's RAFI models: 'dumb and smart'
Rob Arnott, RAFI’s designer, describes the basic model as “dumb”, meaning that it is a purely passive index. Research Affiliates and Informed Portfolio Management (IPM), the Stockholm based arm of First Quadrant, have since introduced a “smart ” or enhanced version of RAFI to show what a little judicious tweaking ...
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Features
Incremental steps for change
In Belgium, pension funds have traditionally taken an even-handed approach to the bond-equity split. And because they weighted their asset allocation neither heavily to debt nor to stocks, there were few changes to make when broader investment opinion came around to their way of thinking. Since the crash ...
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Features
Amonis spreads diversification net
At Belgian professional medical sector fund Amonis, the equity-bond ratio is exactly level at the moment - quite a change from the ratio before 2000 which was far more heavily weighted towards stocks. “Before then we had about 62% in equities and 30% in bonds,” says chief financial officer Tom ...
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Features
Bleak future for Taft-Hartley plans
Last May the FBI spent almost $250,000 (€197,000) digging for the remains of Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared in 1975 a few miles from Detroit, Michigan. Many members of the union that used to be led by Hoffa and is now managed by his son James would have preferred ...
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Features
Who has the lowest costs of all?
If we measure the long-term average annual investment management cost incurred by funds from different global regions, we find that European funds, at 19 bps, spend the least while Australian funds, at 44 bps, spend the most. However, before we conclude that European funds are the world’s lowest cost funds, ...
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Features
A growing appetite
Contrary to the negative impression given by the German financial press private equity investment in Germany is becoming more popular, according to new research.Francesco di Valmarana and Joanna Jordan look at the numbers
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Features
Smoke and mirrors world of TAA
There have been rapid product developments in tactical asset allocation in Germany in recent times which have raised questions and challenges for managers, as Torsten Köpke reports
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Features
Conversion rates take a downhill path
The Swiss government’s attempt to lower conversion rates is likely to spark off increased controversy about pension returns. Peter Hunziker reports
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Features
All-round changes impact investments
Graziano Lusenti reports on the legislative and other key changes that are taking place in the field of occupational pensions in Switzerland
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Features
Event driven strategies outperform in August
The month of August was characterised by rather strong performance of the stock markets, as indicated by above average returns of the S&P 500, while volatility remained at the same level as last month, still close to its historical lows. After the first positive return of the ongoing year posted ...
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Features
Fofs post healthy gains
Global financial markets continued to recover in August, despite some volatility on account of the Lebanon crisis, the hurricane forecasts, the London terror threat, and weak US economic data. The Eurekahedge fund of funds index returned 0.6% for the month of August and 4.5% for the year to August. The ...
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Features
Are managers delivering what we need?
IPE asked three pension funds – in the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain – the same question: ‘Have asset managers kept up with the evolving demands of pension funds?’ Here are their answers:
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Features
Surge seen in second pillar funds
Asset growth has been exceptional throughout the region, reports Krystyna Krzyzak
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Features
Never a dull moment
Dutch pension funds have had a turbulent time getting to grips with a new law, market conditions an uncertain FTK timetable, George Coats discovers
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Features
Longevity dulls risk appetite
Growing liabilities and the regulatory regime means pension funds are focusing more on matching assets and liabilities. George Coats reports
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Features
Flexible course to holy grail
New regime aims to attract pan-European funds but there are concerns about increased governance rules, George Coats reports
