All IPE articles in March 2020 (Magazine)
View all stories from this issue.
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Country ReportNetherlands: Still searching for yields
Dutch pension funds are looking towards illiquid assets as they search for returns in the challenging low-interest-rate environment
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InterviewsPerspective: Striving for net zero
Günther Thallinger, a member of the board of management at Allianz and chair of the steering group of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, spoke in Davos about the role of asset owners in reducing carbon emissions
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Opinion PiecesGuest Viewpoint: Gregg McClymont
If the purpose of a pension system is to deliver a stable income in retirement, then the UK, strictly speaking, is on a path to leaving pensions behind.
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FeaturesGeopolitical risk: The new norm
Geopolitical risk is now the norm and not the exception, and brings with it a rise in volatility,” says Joyce Chang, chair of global research at JP Morgan, adding: “This volatility has tended to create more noise than trend.”
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Special ReportManager Selection: A new guide to the future
Past performance is an unreliable guide to future success. Might the corporate culture of asset managers offer better foresight?
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Opinion PiecesJudgement needed more than ever
There are good reasons why even the most ardent technophile should be wary of the excitement surrounding new investment-related technology. Big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain all no doubt have promising applications in the investment world.
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AnalysisEquities – Innovation frenzy in race for survival
Companies must cope with today’s unprecedented pace of technological disruption and rapidly evolving consumer expectations to stay in business
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FeaturesEmerging market outlook
Emerging markets have a knack for being in the headlines for the wrong reasons. They also stand out as sources of growth for investors who face low interest rates and muted economic performance in the developed world
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Country ReportNetherlands: Funds delay trouble
Crucial decisions loom for Dutch pension funds as low rates bite hard
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Opinion PiecesLetter from the US: Lower rates, deeper holes
Something unprecendented happened in the US in the first weeks of January when the Milliman 100 PFI discount rate fell 35bps to a 20-year low of 2.85% “It was a very poor month for defined benefit (DB) plans, not a good start of the year and it dug an even deeper hole in their financial situation,” points out Zorast Wadia, principal, consulting actuary at Milliman. He is also author of the Milliman 100 pension funding index (PFI), an annual study of the 100 largest DB pension plans sponsored by US public companies.
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InterviewsHow we run our money: Pirelli DB pension funds
Flavio Cateni (pictured), former head of DB pensions at Pirelli, now acting as an adviser to the company, outlines a far-sighted fiduciary management strategy and a robust risk management approach
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AnalysisEquities – The valuation conundrum
The huge gap in current equity valuations, depending on which metrics are used, presents a tricky challenge for investors
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AnalysisFixed income, rates, currencies: China’s woe hits rest of world
While the speed and breadth of the spread of infection was unknown, it was apparent that the outbreak of the new coronavirus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), would cause considerable disruption to economic activity in China.
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Country ReportNetherlands: A sector holding its collective breath
A tripartite steering group involving experts, stakeholders and government is trying to come up with a new concept for pension plans
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Book ReviewBook review: The Signs Were There - Spilling the saucerful of secrets
Tim Steer’s romp through the world of dodgy accounting practices and share price debacles is beyond shocking. He brings together his forensic examinations of publicly quoted companies’ accounts, and demonstrates clearly that “the signs were (indeed) there” in a way that induces reader incredulity.
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Opinion PiecesA belated but welcome debate
The belief that the corporate culture of an asset management organisation affects its performance is gaining ground. Some investment consultants make reference to corporate culture as a factor driving manager selection. This may be marketing, but it could spark debate.
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Special ReportManager selection: When delivering value becomes law
The debate around the value added by asset managers is taking fundamental steps forward
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FeaturesESG: What drives ATP to divest?
Short of flying someone to Mexico City to knock on the door of the mining and transport company’s headquarters, the Danish pension fund had done all it could. Selling off its DKK13m (€1.7m) block of shares in Grupo México was not what ATP really wanted to do at the end of last year.
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Opinion PiecesSuper asset managers: size matters
Institutional investors must question how the emergence of super asset managers have really benefited them over the years, especially since the cycle of mergers and acquisitions seems to have continued 10 years on.
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InterviewsOn the record: Asset manager selection
IPE asked the Caisse de prévoyance de l’État de Genève (CPEG) how manager selection is changing
