All IPE articles in March 2009 (Online) – Page 6
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NewsConsultants look to the future
[16:50 CET 13-03] GLOBAL – Pension fund consultants must achieve a greater understanding of their clients’ needs and constraints and should consider more closely what investments will benefit them, according to consultants questioned in an IPE study.
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NewsTower Hamlets retains Record and Auriel
[16:50 CET 13-03] UK - The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has reappointed Record Currency Management (RCM) and Auriel Capital Management (ACM) to run its £10m (E11m) currency portfolio – which accounts for 3.5% of the scheme's overall portfolio.
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NewsSwedish income pension reports €23.5bn drop
SWEDEN – The Swedish national pension system, or inkomstpension, which uses the AP funds as buffers to cover pension liabilities, reported a fall of SEK 261bn (€23.5bn)in 2008.
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NewsGerman pensions 'comparatively sound' – WWH
[16:30 CET 13-03] GERMANY – Funding levels in the pension schemes of large German companies are expected to have dropped five percentage points year-on-year between 2007 and 2008, according to Alfred Gohdes, director of Watson Wyatt Heissmann.
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NewsMark-to-market pricing 'needs addressing'
[16:20 CET 13-03] UK – Mark-to-market accounting is “not helping” pension funds and the issue needs to be addressed, delegates at the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) investment conference were told.
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NewsDutch schemes lost €86bn in Q4
[16:10 CET 13-03] NETHERLANDS - Dutch pension funds’ combined investments in equity and fixed income decreased by 19% to €529bn during the fourth quarter of 2008, according to De Nederlandsche Bank.
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NewsCall for rescue fund in the Netherlands
[16:00 CET 13-03] NETHERLANDS – A Dutch lobbying organisation for the elderly has called for a rescue fund to be set up which will allow struggling pension funds to keep their benefits at their present level.
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NewsHackney moves into currency as BGI disappoints
[15:50 CET 13-03] UK - The London Borough of Hackney has appointed FX Concepts to run a specialist £150m (€162m) active currency programme for its local government pension scheme.
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NewsFSA attacks investors for not doing enough
[17:00 CET 12-03] UK - Institutional investors have a "major role" to play in addressing issues arising from the current financial crisis, as they share responsibility for the actions of companies and the resulting consequences, the UK's financial regulator has warned.
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NewsLGIM picks up East Sussex mandate
[16:50 CET 12-03] UK - East Sussex County Council has appointed Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) to run a specialist £275m (€295m) passive UK equity mandate.
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NewsFico set to change pension fund fee structure
SLOVAKIA – Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico has presented parliament with a bill to change the fee structure for pension fund management companies and base it more on positive performance.
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NewsConfidence in Dutch pensions is damaged - study
[16:25 CET 12-03] NETHERLANDS - Dutch pension funds are faced with a substantial fall in confidence, concluded a survey by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, as the share of participants with confidence in pension funds has dropped from 64% to 44% percent over the last three years.
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NewsAegon’s Dutch pension sales dropped 57%
NETHERLANDS - Aegon’s pension sales in the Netherlands dropped 57% during the fourth quarter of 2008, and led to lower overall life sales of 44% compared to the previous year.
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NewsPension deficits are 'important factor in stock picking'
[15:30 CET 12-03] UK - Executives managing corporate pension schemes have been warned pension scheme deficits are an important factor when considering which companies to invest in, according to Fidelity’s figurehead investment expert Anthony Bolton.
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NewsActuaries challenge PPF levy methodology
[15:15 CET 12-03] UK - Actuaries and consultants firm Barnet Waddingham has called on the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to change its levy calculations to reflect defined benefit schemes paying cash benefits to its members.
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NewsStraatman to overhaul ING as multi-boutique
[11:00 CET 12-03] EUROPE - Jan Straatman, who joined €300bn investment management giant ING last August as chief investment officer, is set to deconstruct its traditional 'silo'-based structure and transform it into a multi-boutique firm with hedge fund-style risk management.
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NewsConsultants state position on conflicts of interest
[17:20 CET 11-03] EUROPE – Pensions and investment consultants still appear to be in disagreement when asked whether giving both advice and selling multi-manager investments within a single firm creates conflicts of interest.
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NewsAP3 forced to admit shortcomings in risk management
[17:10 CET 11-03] SWEDEN - The third Swedish national pension fund, AP3, has admitted it lacked the capacity to deal with the financial crisis as returns on assets fell sharply last year to create a 18.8% net loss.
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NewsNorway opts for equities to combat negative bond returns
[17:00 CET 11-03] NORWAY – The Norway Government Pension Fund – Global has been forced to review its short-term investment strategy following the worst results in the scheme’s history.
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NewsDanish tax reforms ‘make early retirement attractive’
[16:50 CET 11-03] DANISH - The government wants the elderly to stay longer in their jobs before retiring but pensions experts say proposed tax reforms could have the opposite effect and force individuals to retire early.
