Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 571
-
Features
Tapping sources of alpha
The total investment return from an asset portfolio can be divided into two components: q Alpha – the return from taking active risk (ie, not mirroring the market or a proxy thereof, such as an index); and q Beta – the return from taking on exposure to market risk. It ...
-
Features
Hats off time
While a number of commentators, myself included, have been rather unkind to the European Securities Forum (ESF) over the past few years, the organisation has brushed aside its critics and soldiered doggedly on with efforts to bring about the harmonisation and integration of European clearing and settlement processes. So does ...
-
Special Report
Uphill in Netherlands
According to the the Dutch Association of Sustainable Investors (VBDO): “Dutch pension funds hardly give any information on how they include social and environmental aspects in their asset management.” The VBDO reported that the total volume of socially responsible investments (SRI) of Dutch pension funds had increased to about 3.3% ...
-
Special Report
Animal welfare on agenda
New scientific research is beginning to confirm consumers’ instincts that farm animals have feelings, and that their welfare and humane treatment not only ensures higher quality food but is worth paying a premium for on moral grounds. While sales of free range eggs and other pro-animal welfare products are on ...
-
Features
A true pioneer
Pioneer Investments is the global asset manager that was created in 2000 when Italian banking group UniCredito acquired the US investment firm Pioneer Group and merged it with its own asset management company, EuroPlus Research and Management. The acquisition gave UniCredito’s asset management arm a global reach, since Pioneer brought ...
-
Features
Who's for commodities
Well, what is an investment in commodities? Why does it seem to be flavour of the month? Certainly, if it is an investment in say the Goldman Sachs Commodities Index it is not necessarily an investment in commodity Prices. When looking at a commodity index investment one must look at ...
-
Features
French take notice at last
Private equity is relatively undeveloped as an investment by French pension funds. Until now, the pressures against private equity have worked both against the sector itself and the investor. Jane Welsh, senior investment consultant at Watson Wyatt says: “Opportunities to invest in private equity in France have been limited. The ...
-
Features
Making a splash in pension pooling
There is an increasing amount of interest in the establishment of pension pooling vehicles by multinational organisations seeking to combine their international or European pension investments in a single global or single regional fund. The pooling of pension assets in a single vehicle is an attractive concept as it generates ...
-
Features
A perplexing market
In 1853 a small fleet of five black US navy ships led by USS Powhatan and commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry, anchored at Tokyo Bay and opened up Japan to international trade after 250 years of isolation. A combination of diplomatic finesse backed up by gunboats had transformed the attitudes ...
-
Features
Simplicity is the key
Commodities are Jim Rogers’ investment passion. As a measure of their neglect by other investors, he puts forward a simple observation: “There are 40,000 mutual funds for stocks and bonds, but you cannot find five mutual funds investing in commodities.” Rogers, a co-founder of the Quantum fund, and best-selling author ...
-
Features
Show me the money flows
In just a few years, the business of institutional investment research has gone through seismic shifts. These shifts have been prompted in part by the exposure of tainted recommendations and conflicts of interest among research analysts on both sides of the Atlantic. In some cases, analysts were not only expected ...
-
Features
Pay or prerequisite?
Two views of pensions have developed in Europe. One is that a pension, whether provided by government or private sector, is effectively deferred pay. In this view, members of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes exchange pay today for future pensions. In other words, people will accept wages at lower than ...
