Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 8
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Opinion Pieces
Ireland – future pensions tiger
Ireland stands a few policy steps away from the creation of a serious first and second-pillar pensions architecture that will improve the country’s international standing in terms of retirement provision.
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Opinion Pieces
Sweden’s Alecta seems immune from criticism but beware the watchdog
Right now, Alecta cuts a strange figure – one of Europe’s biggest pensions institutions wounded after gaping investment losses, and sustaining still worse injuries from the monopolistic hubris it leaves in its wake.
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Analysis
Trust will matter in light of market dominance of UBS in Swiss institutional business
One of the most important aspects of the downfall of Credit Suisse and the subsequent takeover by UBS is that loss of trust comes at the highest possible cost
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Analysis
Trade finance – a sustainable asset class for institutional investors?
Trade financing, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in an analysis from September* “is critical for enabling international commerce and driving international development and poverty reduction”.
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Analysis
Accounting standards: stuck between practicalities and principles on climate change
The International Accounting Standards Board is considering changing its rules on how companies make disclosures about climate-related and other so-called uncertainties in financial statements
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Opinion Pieces
Pensions a bright spot for Australia
By 2063, Australia’s relatively youthful treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will be 85 years old and likely well into retirement.
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Analysis
The pension consolidation masters: learning from the Netherlands
What can other countries learn from the Netherlands about pension fund consolidation?
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Opinion Pieces
Irish pensions auto-enrolment is a worthy challenge
Irish citizens are set to get a retirement boost following the government’s decision to implement its auto-enrolment retirement savings scheme in 2024. That is, if all goes to plan. Under the proposed scheme, which has been a topic of debate in Irish politics for at least 15 years, employees will have access to a workplace pension savings scheme that is co-funded by their employer and the state.
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Interviews
Private equity managers are keeping pension funds happy – in most cases
The private equity industry faces significant pressures. IPE asked Nordic pension funds about their experience with this growing asset class.
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Interviews
Real assets at the core for Migros Pensionskasse
Christoph Ryter (pictured left) and Stephan Bereuter of Switzerland’s Migros Pensionskasse tell Luigi Serenelli about the fund’s asset allocation strategy and guiding sprit of self reliance
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Features
Market volatility: low risk does not mean ‘no risk’
Efforts to produce an accurate estimate of market risk can sometimes turn into a pessimist’s paradise, leading to a paradox. If the outcome of the estimation looks positive, investors might feel that they should not count on it, and if it looks negative, the real outcome will probably be worse than expected. From that perspective, the third quarter of this year was a very unusual one, quantitatively speaking. Not only did both risk and return decline simultaneously – a rare event – but investor sentiment also turned negative during the quarter, ending at its lowest level since the March banking crisis.
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Interviews
Opening private markets to smaller investors
“One of the biggest differentiators for us in comparison to other private markets businesses is our focus on the use of technology within the business,” says Hartley Rogers, chair of Hamilton Lane.
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Features
Fixed income, rates & currency: interest rates the big question
In August, when Fitch Ratings downgraded US debt from AAA to AA+, it cited an “erosion of governance” as one of the key reasons for its decision. September’s US government shutdown chaos will probably not have improved perceptions of US lawmakers’ proficiency to govern.
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Interviews
Pricing the decline of democracy for investors
History does not progress in a linear way. Science, democracy, technology, arts, the economy and any other type of evolutive process advance and recede in chaotic movements, even though they ineluctably move towards progress. Those recessions and pull-backs often go unnoticed at first, at least to the casual observer. And yet, they end up profoundly sanctioned by all stakeholders including the economy, financial markets and investors.
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Features
Qontigo Riskwatch – November 2023
*Data as of 29 September 2023. Forecast risk estimate for each index measured by the respective US, World and Emerging Markets Qontigo model variants
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Features
IPE Quest Expectations Indicator - November 2023
IPE’s monthly poll of market sentiment, asking 50 asset managers about their six to 12-month views on regional equities, global bonds and currency pairs
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Special Report
Corporate reporting: UK pivots to a forward-looking view on climate transition plans
The Transition Plan Taskforce has given its final recommendations for climate transition plans. If adopted by the FCA they will lead to a step-change in reporting by financial institutions
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Opinion Pieces
Regulation of private markets is essential
The private markets industry is feeling the pinch. Private equity managers, in particular, are having a hard time raising capital and exiting investments. There are also questions about returns from recent vintages, as businesses struggle with inflation and a choppier trading environment. Meanwhile, private credit managers are pushing back loan repayments to safeguard returns as higher interest rates reduce borrowers’ ability to fulfil their obligations.
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Opinion Pieces
SEC cracks down on private equity and hedge funds
Pension funds, university endowments, insurance funds, and other institutional investors have long called for more transparency about their investments in private equity and hedge funds.