Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 395
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Pensions market pushes for private equity self-regs
[15:30 CET 12-12] NETHERLANDS - Mn Services, the €65m service provider for the large metal pension schemes PME and PMT, has initiated a drive for increased self-regulation by private equity firms and hedge funds and delivered key recommendations through a consultation with the industry.
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No stays as 'no' on conditional indexation
UK – The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions has said it believe there is sufficient benefit in allowing occupational pension funds to apply conditional indexation but it will do further work next year into the feasibility of introducing collective DC schemes and risk sharing.
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Pensionskassen could be reformed
[17:15 CET 10-12] AUSTRIA – The new Austrian government coalition has signed a working paper which contains plans to discuss reform of the Pensionskassen system in Austria.
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EC mulls short-selling ban
[16:20 CET 09-12] EUROPE – Niall Bohan, the head of the asset management unit at the European Commission (EC), today revealed the EC is reviewing short-selling and looking at possible bans on the practice, while seeking to organise stock-lending.
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'Cherish and embrace' activist shareholders
[16:10 CET 09-12] EUROPE – Shareholder activism is an incentive to better governance and value creation which should be “cherished and embraced”, a panel discussion on hedge funds in London stressed today.
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Voluntary retirement confusion forces French law change
[16:00 CET 09-12] FRANCE – The French government is expected to announced adjustments to a new law covering voluntary retirement, following confusion over indemnities payable by employers.
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'Smoothed' accounting could help pensions woes
[16:35 CET 08-12] EUROPE – The introduction of ‘smoothing’ on the accounting of pension fund asset valuations would significantly improve pension fund valuations and management without fundamentally changing the risks they need to manage, according to BlackRock Asset Management.
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New evidence of bad advice on pension transfers
[13:00 CET 08-12] UK – The Financial Services Authority has uncovered fresh evidence of pension transfer mis-selling which indicates some occupational pension members may have been wrongly advised to shift out of schemes in the wake of A-Day.
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NewsItalian funds to discuss investment review
[16:45 CET 05-12] ITALY – The Italian pension fund regulator Commisione di Vigilanza sui Fondi Pensione (Covip) has invited Italy’s largest pension funds to discuss possible changes to the current investment strategy in light of the credit crunch.
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NewsFSCS yet to cover pension scheme buyout protection (amended)
[16:50 CET 03-12] UK – The UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has today stressed it has yet to be decided whether it would pay compensation to both members and trustees of pensions schemes where there has been a pensions buyout or buy-in, should the insurance company involved collapse.
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NewsIf IORP ain’t broke, don’t fix it - EFRP
[16:45 CET 03-12] EUROPE – The European Federation for Retirement Provision (EFRP) has told the European Commission there is still no evidence the IORP Directive is failing, making harmonisation of work place pensions and introduction of solvency II-type requirements within the IORP Directive premature.
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Germany warns against ban on dividend payments
[16:45 CET 02-12] GERMANY – German finance minister Peer Steinbrück has warned against a categorical ban on dividend payments by banks which have been rescued by the their governments.
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Pension firms attack Danish contributions ceiling
[11:00 CET 02-12] DENMARK - Pension experts have slammed a proposal from Denmark's 'economic wise mean to place a DKK100,000 (€13,423) a year ceiling on pensions contributions and claim most people could instead finance this tax saving by the payments they make when they retire.
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Conflict potential should not discourage trustees
[17:05 CET 01-12] UK – The potential for conflicts of interests should not put people off from becoming a trustee, as resignation is now seen as the 'last resort', lawyers have claimed.
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EC tackles Portugal, Spain and UK over pensions
[16:45 CET 01-12] EUROPE – The European Commission has initiated action against the governments of Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom for what it believes is a breach of EU rules concerning the terms applied to European pensions.
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Lithuania to cut private pension contributions
[17:20 CET 28-11] LITHUANIA - An economic crisis plan approved by Lithuania’s incoming government includes a proposal to reduce contributions to the second pillar pension system.
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Ombudsman warns trustees over investment role
[16:55 CET 28-11] IRELAND – The Pensions Ombudsman has warned it is time trustees of pension schemes, including professional trustees, to recognise their responsibilities to members particularly in areas such as investment.
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Late UPOs could trigger AFM sanctions
[16:35 CET 28-11] NETHERLANDS - Pension providers and insurers risk “formal measures” from communications supervisor AFM if they do not send out their 2008 uniform pension statements this year.
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VBV wants variable calculation rate
[16:45 CET 27-11] AUSTRIA – VBV, the largest Pensionskassen in the Austrian pensions market, has called for greater flexibility in the rate at which pensions are calculated, in a bid to minimise the number of cases where payouts are being cut.
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Gov't can't do auto-enrolment before 2012
[15:40 CET 27-11] UK – The UK government does not believe it will be possible to introduce auto-enrolment into pension schemes before 2012, despite calls from the industry to implement the measure now.
