All IPE articles in March 2021 (Magazine)
View all stories from this issue.
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Special ReportSpecial Report – European pension regulation 2021
What are the main regulatory changes affecting Europe’s pensions sector? Our regulatory roundup takes us to key European countries to find out how regulators and politicians are planning to change pensions. This special report also looks at the review of the EU’s Non-financial Reporting directive, for which a legislative proposal is due this month, and explores the impact of Brexit on the UK de-risking market and accounting standards.
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Country ReportCountry Report – Pensions in the Netherlands (March 2021)
After decades of intense debate surrounding pension reform, a ‘historic’ deal was reached last year between the social partners and the government about the direction of the new Dutch pension system. The move from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) under the new pension contract is having an impact on the sector as a whole. In this report, we explore some of the key issues facing the industry including funding pressures, assessing members’ risk appetite, the future of fiduciary management, and the surge in alternative strategies
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - March 2021
Vaccination figures are rising steadily, but are still at a relatively low level. The US and UK, both important vaccine producers, lead the field with the EU and Japan lagging. As the speed of vaccination has increased, supplies have become a problem, except in the UK. This has caused bad feelings in the EU to the point where a trade war was threatened. New vaccines are in the regulatory pipeline but market shares have largely already been divided in the developed countries. The discovery of new COVID-19 mutations and their resistance to vaccines are an additional risk.
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Special ReportUK accounting: The Brexit slower ball
Full departure from EU rules means the UK must set up its own accounting standards
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Opinion Pieces‘Urgency’ necessary for adequate provision
The IORP II Directive seeks to “improve the way occupational pension funds are governed”, to “enhance information transparency” to pension savers and to “clarify the procedures for carrying out cross-border transfers and activities”, according to EIOPA.
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FeaturesStrategically Speaking: Capstone Investment Advisors
Last spring’s exceptional market volatility proved the mettle of at least one set of strategies – volatility-focused hedge funds. The CBOE Eurekahedge Tail Risk Hedge Fund index returned a bumper 51.64% in the first three months of 2020 alone against a broad hedge fund market index return of -7.96%, and was up 34.8% for the year.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Alternatives investing in a low-yielding world
Investors hoping to replicate bond-like returns (low to mid-single digit, low volatility and drawdown) are facing an unenviable predicament. How can they generate acceptable, positive returns without simultaneously suffering illiquidity, valuation uncertainty, gap risk, and other hard to quantify risks?
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Country ReportSurge in alternative strategies among Dutch pension funds
Dutch pension funds turn to alternative assets and ESG investing in the hunt for income
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Country ReportRisk tolerance: Dutch funds to assess member risk appetite
In measuring their members’ risk appetite as required by new laws, pension funds should not overlook desired pension outcome
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Special ReportPensions regulation around Europe
How politicians and regulators plan to change pensions in key European countries
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Opinion PiecesFX Reserves: The ‘rainy day’ has arrived
The world is facing a short-term health and economic crisis with COVID-19. In the longer term it is threatened by an existential crisis with global warming caused by burning fossil fuels.
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Asset Class ReportsAsset class report – European equities
The roll out of COVID vaccines has brightened the outlook for European large caps facing a changed landscape
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Retail super funds in distress
Australia’s once-dominant retail super funds are witnessing the end of an era as they wrestle with loss of consumer confidence in their brands. Hastening change has been the rise of industry supers, which benefitted from damaging evidence provided to the Hayne Royal Commission in 2018.
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Opinion PiecesCapital will drive best practice in reporting
The European Commission’s review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), scheduled for publication shortly, comes at a time of increased scrutiny of both corporates and those who supply them with debt and equity.
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Special ReportSustainability-linked bonds: More bonds to ease climate transition
Bank of China is the first large middle-income economy to issue transition bonds based on ICMA guidelines
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Special ReportPandemic booster shot for social bonds
Social bond issuance rockets in reaction to the coronavirus
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Special ReportGreen and social bonds: Lending with purpose
Social bond issuance rocketed in 2020 in reaction to the devastating social and economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. New issuers of social bonds – which are dedicated to employment, public health and education – included the European Commission, the Bank of China and a large number of financial institutions and corporations, as we analyse in this report. The report also looks at the role of sustainability-linked bonds in supporting climate transition strategies, and covers plans for the UK to launch its first green Gilt this year.
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Asset Class ReportsEuropean Equities – Small caps lead recovery
European smaller companies have proven more resilient against COVID effects than their large counterparts
