Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 474
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MEPs reject UCITS for pension directive
EUROPE – Members of the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee have voted against proposals to bring UCITS investment funds within the scope of the directive on occupational pension funds.
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Germany’s BVK to allocate €1bn to hedge funds
GERMANY – Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), Germany’s largest pension fund with €38bn in assets, plans to raise allocations to hedge funds to €1bn by the end of 2006 - from €150m currently.
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Dutch flower industry to get new pension fund
NETHERLANDS – The Dutch wholesale flower and plant sector is to get a new independent defined contribution pension fund.
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UK to legislate on DB transfer values
UK – The government is to legislate on the calculation of transfer values for defined benefit occupational pension schemes – taking oversight away from the Actuarial Profession.
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10% of large UK schemes now in hedge funds
UK – Some 10% of large UK pension funds now invest in hedge funds, according to a survey by Mercer Investment Consulting.
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German state pension contributions ‘to rise’
GERMANY – Two German economists have predicted that despite recent reforms, it is highly likely that the statutory contribution to the state pension scheme will rise to 25% after 2030 against 19.5% now.
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OECD to unveil pension management principles
GLOBAL – The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is set to unveil a five-point guideline for pension fund asset management tomorrow (March 21).
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NAPF Conference: actuaries under scrutiny
UK - Some scheme actuaries are failing to give proper leadership and guidance to schemes for fear of it backfiring on them, according to remarks at the NAPF’s investment conference.
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Switzerland rejects occupational pensions choice
SWITZERLAND – The Swiss government has come out against the idea of free choice in the occupational, or second-pillar, pensions arena.
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Investment banks get stick at NAPF Conference
UK - Investment banks should sell pension funds products that are acceptable, and use language that scheme trustees can understand, according to CarnaudMetalBox Group UK pensions manager Philip Read.
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German boutique Lupus opens Vienna office
AUSTRIA – Lupus alpha, a Frankfurt-based asset management boutique, has opened a new sales office in Vienna as part of a push into the Austrian institutional market.
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Long-term bond demand “price inelastic” – Norges
NORWAY – Pension funds’ demand for long-term bonds may be “price inelastic”, says the Norwegian central bank.
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NAPF Conference: ESPS’s Barlow on bonds
UK - The idea of pension schemes just getting into bonds and gilts seems "crazy" to Electricity Supply Pension Scheme chief executive Richard Barlow.
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Allianz hails pension, asset management demand
EUROPE – Insurance giant Allianz has attributed continued strong demand for its pension and asset management products for a double-digit increase in earnings during 2005.
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DNB consults on pension reporting pre-FTK
NETHERLANDS – The Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank, is consulting on pension reporting ahead of the implementation of the new FTK (Financial Assessment Framework) and Pension Law.
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Call for UCITS to come under pension directive
EUROPE – Othmar Karas, the Austrian MEP who was the rapporteur for the occupational pension fund directive, has proposed bringing UCITS investment funds within the directive’s scope.
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NAPF Conference: Hitchen on flight to bonds
UK - A flight to bonds is short-term thinking, according to Chris Hitchen, chairman of the National Association of Pension Fund's investment council.
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Directive to boost German Pensionsfonds - Bosch
GERMANY – Bernhard Wiesner, head of corporate pensions at Robert Bosch, says German multinationals will favour Anglo-Saxon-style Pensionsfonds due to the EU directive on occupational pension funds.
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Akzo Nobel working under PPF on UK scheme
UK – Dutch-based chemicals and coatings firm Akzo Nobel is working under Pension Protection Fund regulations on the situation at one of its UK subsidiaries.
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STAR urges changes to new pension law
NETHERLANDS – The Dutch Labour Foundation (STAR) has written to the parliamentary social affairs committee urging that changes be made to the government’s proposed pension bill.
