Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 578
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Features
Lego: piecing it together
When the founder of the Lego company, Ole Kirk Christiansen, came up with the brand name, he was apparently unaware that it means ‘I put together’ in Latin. It is appropriate in this context as that is exactly what the company, based in Billund, Denmark, has been doing recently with ...
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Features
Testing times for private accounts
If people are free to choose, they will choose freedom. This political philosophy, which was strongly embraced by Thatcher and Reagan in the 1980s, is now at the core of the Bush administration in every field, including economy. It is the very same principle that would justify a pension reform ...
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Features
Dealing with today's sharply increasing OPEB liabilities
The time may be right for employers to develop strategies for managing health benefits for retirees – so-called ‘other post-employment benefits’ (OPEB). Several factors are responsible for OPEB’s emergence as a major issue for employers. OPEB has become a significant operating statement cost and balance sheet liability. According to data ...
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Features
Real estate has proven its worth
It is that time of year again. Numbers have been crunched, figures analysed, reports prepared. Trustees have received information on the year just gone and for most it has not been too bad. In the UK and US, equities outperformed bonds. Okay, in much of continental Europe this was not ...
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Features
Greece looks to Ireland for reform model
The Greek government may turn to Ireland for “inspiration” on pension changes, a finance and economy ministry spokeswoman has said. The government is watching the changes launched in the EU member states with similar life expectancy problems for inspiration, the spokeswoman said. For the time being changes to the Greek ...
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Features
Hedge funds provide good return for Shell
Stichting Shell Pensioenfonds, the e13.7bn scheme of the oil giant, made a 6.9% return on its hedge fund investments in 2004. “On the hedge fund portfolio a return of almost 7% was achieved,” the scheme says in a statement on its website. Hedge funds, including currency hedging, account for 5.5% ...
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Features
Finland faces tough choices
The Finnish government has been urged to usher in more politically difficult pension reform measures to make its finances sustainable. The “political arithmetic” suggests there may be dangers in waiting too long, a new report warns. It comes as it appears that the initial response to a new flexible retirement ...
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Features
Between a rock and a hard place
News that a conference on longevity and the capital markets in February was so massively oversubscribed that a video link had to be set up to accommodate the overspill demonstrates just how topical this issue has become recently. The conference came on the heels of news that both the French ...
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Features
Mandatory saving not the German way
The government has ruled out the possibility of private saving for retirement in Germany becoming mandatory, saying its pension reforms of 2001 and 2004 should be sufficient. To encourage saving for retirement, the government created Riester Rente in 2001 – second- and third-pillar pensions that qualify for government subsidies. But ...
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Features
Not all on the same hymn sheet
“Historically, pension funds gave all their assets to one manager. Then they realised that one manager could not outperform over every asset class. So they turned to specialists, and ended up with several asset managers, 10 or 12 reports, and a very complex structure. Multi-manager (MM) is the solution. It ...
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Features
Hard going in France
While multi-manager (MM) services have grown dramatically in popularity worldwide, France is one European market where progress has been slow. Foreign entrants to the French MM institutional market have found it particularly hard to make progress, and domestic organisations which set up MM products some years ago have found growth ...
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Features
Tough going for investors
Narrowing credit spreads are good for the borrower and great for the lender or investor if they own the debt while it improves. However, as spreads diminish, so too do prospects for excess returns. Credit spreads have been shrinking for some years now and have reached record lows for some ...
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Features
Facing a climate of change
Much has been written and spoken about the EU Directive, which must be implemented in EU national laws by 23 September 2005. Some see it as having insignificant impact and others believe that it will be a catalyst for major change for pensions throughout the EU. Implementation of the directive ...
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Features
Paying for the good life
One of the requirements of membership of the Salvation Army, the quasi-military Christian mission created by William Booth in 1865, is that members abstain from alcohol and avoid tobacco. This has created an unusual situation for the actuaries of the Salvation Army’s UK pension schemes, who have to take account ...
