Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 648
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Features
Why we all will be speaking IAS 19 soon
With apologies to yet another variation on those immortal words from Star Trek, it’s just possible that pension accounting treatment in Europe might become the trend-setter for the world, surpassing even the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) that started it all almost 20 years ago. In December 1985, the ...
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Features
The private equity world
The private equity world sometimes moves at a different pace to the rest of the investment world. The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (interestingly still best know by the abbreviation of its old name – EVCA) has just published (in its mid- September newsletter) a summary of the ...
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Features
Unleash your investment manager
There has been much criticism of the way investment benchmarks are used by institutional investors, such as pension funds. Many commentators have argued that the ‘tech boom’ was exacerbated by institutional investors piling into technology stocks simply because they were in the index. Many investment managers have complained that risk ...
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Features
Living a life of their own
First, an uncomfortable truth. Few European pension funds are likely to have much room in their portfolios for US small caps, defined as US companies with a market capitalisation of between $200m (E178m) and $1bn. The average asset allocation to all US equities by European institutional investors is around 20%. ...
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Features
How to secure a pension deal
The need for clearly articulated arrangements between pension stakeholders has recently gained in importance. It is no longer acceptable for large corporations to base their relationship with their pension funds on vague promises as far as annual contribution rates, shortfall recovery plans and refunds in abundant market situations are concerned. ...
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Features
Pragmatic solutions
Companies in Luxembourg have, until recently, had little incentive to introduce supplementary pensions for their employees. The Grand Duchy has one the most generous state pensions in Europe, promising between 60% and 70% of final salary after 40 years’ contributions. This has meant that occupational pension plans in Luxembourg have ...
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Features
Private pensions' two-pronged approach
After lagging behind its neighbours in private pensions and investment funds provisions, Lithuania has passed a comprehensive set of financial laws allowing for second-pillar pensions and clearing the way for third-pillar pensions and investment funds to operate on a level footing with life insurance. The significant legal changes took place ...
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Features
Latvia and Estonia streak ahead
Lithuania’s private pensions system differs in some technical respects from its Latvian and Estonian counterparts, including the completely voluntary nature of the second pillar and its use of a system of individualised accounts. Its compatriots are nevertheless some years ahead in establishing private provision. Latvia has had third-pillar funds in ...
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Features
Meeting the hedge capacity challenge
What is very interesting is the recent rise in pension fund investment in hedge funds. Driven by increasing membership and sponsor pressure to generate absolute returns, pension fund trustees are increasingly considering hedge funds as part of their overall investment portfolios. Now that consultants and even the UK government (Myners) ...
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Features
For a small fee...
Convention has it that the long-term benchmark is the ‘strategy’, and the shorter-term deviations are the ‘tactics’. More important than the label is by whom and how these long-term decisions are made. There was a time when the trustee decision was to follow the herd, and the herd moved at ...
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Features
Fixing pension deficits
Is the worst over? The sky over American pension funds looks a bit less cloudy, after some good news arrived both from Wall Street and from the bond market. Analysts at Merrill Lynch even calculate that the huge deficit hanging over DB pension plans – as big as $300bn (e266bn) ...
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Features
Looking at the pros and cons
The brutal and tragic murder of Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh permeated every aspect of the closing stages of the vote on the issue of the country joining the Euro-zone. Democracy may have been vitiated by the vote, but whether its result will be accepted as conclusive remains to be ...
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Features
Mid-Atlantic mindset
With the UK’s benchmark index, the FTSE 100, hitting highs not seen for a year what about the company behind the index, London-based FTSE Group? The company was formed in 1995 and is a joint venture between the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange. The company’s chief executive is ...
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Features
Bridging the gulf
Set to kick off this year on 20 October in Singapore, the occasion of SWIFT’s annual Sibos conference and exhibit is always an apposite moment to reflect upon the Belgium-based cooperative’s progress over the preceding year. This year, however, SWIFT ceo Lenny Schrank and his fellow executives could be forgiven ...
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Features
Sticking to your last
David Testa sits square in his chair as chief investment officer at T Rowe Price in Baltimore. His chair may swivel, Testa doesn’t. He’s seen most of it before and he ain’t for turning. That’s not surprising since he has been with the firm since he was hired as an ...
