Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 712
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Features
Good decisions need freedom
Continental European pension fund managers have more confidence in their pension fund boards and investment committees than UK counterparts have in their trustees. This was one of the findings to emerge from the Global Asset Study conference organised by benefits consultants Watson Wyatt in Brussels last month. In an electronic ...
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Features
'Sweet spot in Europe'
Indexed asset management worldwide was given its annual work-out in Barcelona at the World Cup of Indexing, organised by IMN, and was found to be in good shape, despite the assault of poor equity markets. The development of indexing in Europe was put in context by Massoud Mussavian of Goldman ...
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Features
Large value focus
Every month in IPE we analyse the portfolio style of a fund using the return-based portfolio analyser developed by London-based firm Style Research. This month we have chosen the DIT-Dresdner US Equity fund, managed by Dresdner International Management Services in Dublin. The graph shows the changes in style the fund ...
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Features
How group control helps local plans
Many multinationals have built up pension arrangements that can become complex when they are consolidated at group level. These frequently contain a mixture of defined benefit and defined contribution schemes. They may be invested directly or indirectly – for example, through insurance policies or investment funds – and may have ...
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Features
Change is in the air
Employee benefits are among the most significant costs to an organisation after salaries. They are also probably the element of the reward programme that differs the most across Europe as differences in legislation, tax, social security and culture have given rise to vastly different benefit environments. However, these diverse environments ...
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Features
DC gives more flexibility in Norway
Historically, retirement plans in Norway have been predominantly defined benefit but legislation that came into effect on 1 January 2001 now permits tax qualified defined contribution plans. One of the stated goals for this new law is to encourage pension provision for the 1m or so Norweigan workers without any ...
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Features
Grasping the retirement age nettle
Many companies and their employees have begun to realise over the last few years that pensions have become increasingly expensive to provide. The answer of most corporate employers has either been to increase contributions and/or to reduce benefits. But there is another solution which really requires action from governments and ...
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Features
Positive outlook
In 2001 the Luxembourg specialised investment funds – or, as they are more correctly known, the funds whose shares/units are not sold to the public in accordance with the law of 19 July 1991 – kept up with the general growth of volumes on the Luxembourg investment fund market. Specialised ...
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Features
Sitting on a $1trn time bomb
The US economy is sitting on a trillion-dollar time bomb, in the form of unrealistic pension return expectations. It affects defined benefit, defined contribution and cash balance plans alike. Is this an alarmist proposition? Alarming, yes. Alarmist, no. The average pension fund in the US is assuming a 9% return ...
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Features
PVF Achmea: the background
About 10 years ago PVF operated as a body to run pension schemes. Its services included advice to pension plan sponsors on policy matters, management of funds’ investments, pensions administration, collection of contributions and payment of benefits. It also looked after running early retirement and disability insurance cover. Today PVF ...
