Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 558
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Features
Directive to 'impact discount rates'
The implementation of the European directive on occupational pensions could lead to a change in the way discount rates are determined, according to the European actuarial consultative group. “We expect to see significant changes in the way discount rates and other assumptions are determined as EU states begin to implement ...
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Features
E.ON to set up external CTA
German energy giant E.ON is to remove up to €5.4bn in pension liabilities from its balance sheet and finance them via an external fund. The construction of the fund, known as a contractural trust arrangement (CTA), is to be completed in 2006. E.ON announced the move with its recent first-half ...
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Features
Gradually losing their inhibitions
As a Scandinavian country, Norway has been more exposed to the private equity culture than most other countries in Europe. And according to the latest figures from the European Venture Capital Association, Norway is slowly creeping up the European private equity rankings in overall terms. Last year, private equity investment ...
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Features
Consultants welcome wealth indices
The move to fundamental or wealth indices has been welcomed as an important development, as indices provider FTSE announces the launch of a new ‘fundamental index’ series. “This new thinking is very healthy and we support the idea,” said Roger Urwin, global head of investment consulting at international consultancy Watson ...
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Features
Harcourt teams up for Swedish index launch
Harcourt Investment Consulting, the Swiss hedge funds business has launched a Swedish hedge fund index. Harcourt has teamed up with data firm SIX and News Agency Direkt on a new series called SIX Harcourt HFXS-Index. They say the new offering provides “a comprehensive insight into the fast-growing Swedish hedge fund ...
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Features
MAN CEO says investable hedge indices 'wrong'
Investable hedge funds indices were given the thumbs down by a senior industry figure at the recent Funds Forum conference in Monaco. Stanley Fink, chief executive of MAN Group, which has $42bn (€34bn) of hedge fund assets under management, criticised the development of investable hedge funds indices and regarded them ...
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Features
Opting out of guarantees
The consultation process during the preparation of legislation to implement the EU pension directive has given the industry an opportunity to lobby the authorities on a number of issues. “The process appears to have been a success,” says, says Kurt Bednar of Mercers in Vienna. The main issue centred on ...
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Features
Goodbye to the simple life
Average returns for Belgian pension funds in 2004 were not particularly good, according to Koen de Ryck, chairman and managing director at Pragma Consulting. According to data from the Belgian Association of Pensions Institutions (BVPI) returns averaged 8.93%. The major issue within the pensions industry in Belgium last year was ...
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Features
Strong market moves east
Central and eastern European pension funds continued to climb up the Top 1000 ranks, with asset growth last year outstripping that of membership because of the exceptionally strong performance of the local capital markets. Share prices rocketed ahead of EU accession in May 2004, while bond markets posted some of ...
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Features
Blue skies with hint of cloud
Skies over the Danish pension landscape have remained remarkably blue during 2005, with equities lifting fund performance. The only clouds on the horizon are interest rates, which remain worryingly low. Leif Hasager, chief investment officer of the BankPension, which covers around 11,000 employees for companies in the Danish financial sector, ...
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Features
Move towards equities
Finnish pension funds have posted above target level real returns of more than 7% for the last couple of years, according to Matti Leppälä, director responsible for international and legal affairs for the Finnish Pensions Alliance (TELA). But the industry is concerned that regulations put unnecessary limits on investments which ...
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Features
Looking for an alternative
The introduction of legislative and regulatory changes means the pensions sector is going through a period of flux. This has given rise to some uncertainty. “But what we know is that the trend towards the strengthening of old-age financial provision is continuing” in the wake of the 2002 Riester reforms, ...
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Features
A bruising time for pensions
The Irish pension scene is certainly feeling somewhat bruised if not battered, as many of its proud aspirations are coming apart. Schemes have come under increasing challenges from funding and international accounting standards. “These have been compounded by the increase in liabilities caused not by any change in the numbers ...
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Features
Last details to be finalised
The pension reform that was the focus of attention for years is no longer on the pension industry’s agenda, according to Guido Blasco, a consultant at Hewitt in Milan. “The consensus is that the reform works, so the debate is no longer about the reforms themselves but about the proposals ...
