Latest – Page 235

  • Aba dismisses idea for fund-based pensions as counterproductive
    News

    Aba dismisses idea for fund-based pensions as counterproductive

    2010-02-12T15:10:00Z

    GERMANY – The German investment federation (BVI) has unveiled proposals for investment fund-based occupational pensions which could lead to further self-management of the second pillar. But the pension fund association aba has warned it is sceptical of the new idea.

  • News

    Brandenburg starts to fund pension

    2010-02-11T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CET 11-02] GERMANY – The German province of Brandenburg will start filling its pension fund for civil servants this year.

  • News

    AP6 admits trust damaged by Xeratech scandal

    2010-02-11T14:30:00Z

    [15:30 CET 11-02] SWEDEN - The board of AP6, one of the Swedish national buffer funds, has concluded in a review of its decision-making processes that its appointment of Åsa Rödén as the CEO of Xeratech was inappropriate because she was in a relationship with AP6’s chief executive, Erling Gustafsson.

  • News

    Trustees called on to drive pensions innovation and guarantees

    2010-02-10T15:20:00Z

    [16:20 CET 10-02] EUROPE – A consultancy on UK pensions liabilities has suggested the defined contribution pensions market could learn lessons from the retail investment sector and use its purchasing power to buy members a form of structured guarantee.

  • News

    DNB to focus on pension fund 'integrity'

    2010-02-09T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CET 09-02] NETHERLANDS- Pensions regulator De Nederlandsche Bank intends to focus its supervision this year on the effect that behaviour and culture has on the integrity of pensions funds and insurers.

  • DC trustees want, but worry about, active investing
    News

    DC trustees want, but worry about, active investing

    2010-02-09T14:30:00Z

    [15:30 CET 09-02] GLOBAL – Pension funds trustees are likely to want to opt for active management of defined contribution pension schemes in the coming years. Yet they fear applying such a strategy could be a battle, new research on the concept claims.

  • UK roundup: PPG Industries, Merseyside, Premier Foods
    News

    UK roundup: PPG Industries, Merseyside, Premier Foods

    2010-02-08T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CET 08-02] UK - The PPG Industries pension scheme is adopting a delegated consulting approach, while Merseyside has re-tendered £500m (€571m) of equity portfolios and Premier Foods is considering longevity solutions for its pension scheme.

  • News

    Dividend-seeking investors warned against reliance on energy

    2010-02-08T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CET 08-2] UK – Dividends paid by BP and Royal Dutch Shell amounted to a quarter of the dividends paid by UK listed companies last year. Yet experts have warned the true picture may not be as good this year as growth is expected to “stagnate” or even fall ...

  • Swedish update, Part 2: East Capital, Pensioner tax
    News

    Swedish update, Part 2: East Capital, Pensioner tax

    2010-02-05T16:05:00Z

    [17:05 CET 05-02] SWEDEN - East Capital has temporarily closed one of its funds in the Swedish national defined contribution pension system, known as the PPM.

  • News

    PPF requires extra investment skills as assets grow

    2010-02-05T15:40:00Z

    [16:40 CET 05-02] UK – The National Audit Office (NAO) has commended the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) for retaining a healthy balance sheet during the recession, but warned it needs to take steps to manage its increasing assets efficiently and perhaps adapt its investment processes.

  • News

    ING pension sets aside 3% to cover longevity

    2010-02-05T15:00:00Z

    [16:00 CET 05-02] NETHERLANDS - The €10bn pension fund of banking giant ING saw its cover ratio rise by 11 percentage points to 118% in 2009, after making additional provisions for longevity.

  • News

    Finnish pension funds return 19% on equities growth

    2010-02-05T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CET 05-02] FINLAND - Finnish occupational pension funds returned an average 19% on investments in 2009 thanks to the equity rally, and clawed back the 14% loss suffered in 2008.

  • News

    ExxonMobil’s pension cover jumps to 168%

    2010-02-04T15:50:00Z

    [16:50 CET 04-02] NETHERLANDS - The €1.8bn pension fund Protector, of energy giant ExxonMobil, saw its cover ratio leap from 122.4% in 2008 to almost 168% in 2009, according to preliminary figures.

  • News

    Swiss Migros aims for more diversification

    2010-02-04T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CET 04-02] SWITZERLAND – The CHF15bn (€10.2bn) Pensionskasse of the Swiss retailer Migros is looking to further diversify its equity portfolio internationally after a 10.9% performance last year.

  • UK roundup: C&W, Hertfordshire, Institute of Directors
    News

    UK roundup: C&W, Hertfordshire, Institute of Directors

    2010-02-04T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 04-02] UK – Cable & Wireless have agreed a pension settlement with the trustees of its UK defined benefit scheme, which is to be split as part of its demerger, while Hertfordshire County Council is seeking a pensions administrator and the Institute of Directors is calling for the ...

  • News

    Property bounce aides Belgian pension funds

    2010-02-03T15:15:00Z

    BELGIUM – A study of 90 active pension funds by consultancy Mercer suggests Belgian pension funds returned a median of 18.5% on investments by the end of 2009, thanks to a rally in equities and real estate.

  • News

    Ireland roundup: IAPF, IAA and Fáilte Ireland

    2010-02-02T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CET 02-02] IRELAND – The Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) has issued guidance for trustees on how to comply with the organisation's new investment guidelines for defined contribution (DC) schemes.

  • Slovakia faces EC action over non-euro pension stance
    News

    Slovakia faces EC action over non-euro pension stance

    2010-02-02T15:30:00Z

    SLOVAKIA – The European Commission has warned Slovakia it must remove restrictions on statutory second pillar pension funds which prevent schemes from investing in non-euro area assets.

  • News

    Three in four Dutch pension plans adopt SRI

    2010-02-02T14:15:00Z

    [15:15 CET 02-02] NETHERLANDS - The number of Dutch pension funds adopting a socially-responsible investment (SRI) policy has more than doubled since 2006 to 73% of all schemes, the combined pensions organisations have claimed.

  • News

    Global pension assets reach 70% of GDP

    2010-02-01T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CET 01-02] GLOBAL - Pension fund assets amounted to 70% of the average global GDP last year, up from 58% in 2008, research from Towers Watson suggests.