All IPE articles in March 2022 (Magazine)
View all stories from this issue.
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Special Report
Special Report - Regulation
Europe’s flagship SFDR regime for ESG was never intended to become a fund-labelling framework. So as Susanna Rust also writes in this issue, it is a relief that the EU is now consulting on minimum requirements for Article 8 funds. In this Special Report, we look in some depth at how asset managers have embraced SFDR, taking in the broad reclassification exercise that has taken place to relabel existing funds, and the short-term risks of greenwashing. In the longer term, the hope is for much more standardisation and there are signs that this is already happening.
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Special Report
Regulation: SFDR put to the test
One year in and the verdict on the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is mixed
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Special Report
Pensions regulation in Switzerland
Developments in the pensions landscape in Switzerland
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Special Report
Pensions regulation in the UK
Developments in the pensions landscape in the United Kingdom
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Special Report
Pensions regulation in The Netherlands
Developments in the pensions landscape in The Netherlands
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Asset Class Reports
Portfolio Strategy – Inflation: A new regime
CIOs and asset allocators discuss the effect of inflation on portfolios
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Opinion Pieces
News Notes: Private investing ‘levels up’ playing field
The UK’s recent government white paper – ‘Levelling up the United Kingdom’ – forcefully pushes for private investing. In it, Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims he is determined to “break that link between geography and destiny, so that it makes good business sense for the private sector to invest in areas that have for too long felt left behind”.
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Special Report
MiFID II: A threat to European sustainability?
MiFID II is unintentionally jeopardising the long-term objectives of ESG investors
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Interviews
On the record: Emerging markets
Despite the current volatility and geopolitical tensions, European pension funds continue to actively seek returns from emerging market investments.
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Country Report
Dutch pension funds tackle inflation
With a nominal liabilities framework under the current FTK rules and a new system around the corner, Dutch schemes are not rushing to inflation-proof their portfolios
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Opinion Pieces
Viewpoint: Greenwashing needs to be pinned down
On 10 March 2022, the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) turns one. In terms of how it was drafted and how it has been implemented, it hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory, although it was high time regulators got involved to try to bring some order into ESG-land.
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Features
Perspective – Liability-driven investing: DIY LDI
A multi-decade trend of falling interest rates, the increased complexity of financial markets and the growing burden of regulation have conspired to turn pension provision into an extremely sophisticated activity. This is especially true for defined benefit pension funds, which may be facing a gradual decline in number, but remain a key source of retirement income.
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Features
Strategically speaking – WTW: Democratising private markets
WTW’s ill-fated merger with Aon, announced at the outset of the pandemic in early March 2020, would have shaken up the corporate insurance brokerage market. It would also have created an outsourced CIO (OCIO) giant to compete with Mercer in terms of delegated assets under management (AUM).
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Special Report
CSDR’s settlement penalties kick in
New regulations attempt to clarify and standardise securities settlement procedures
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Country Report
Q&A: Regulator takes stock on climate risk reporting
IPE asks DNB climate policy specialist Sven van den Beld for a progress report on how pension schemes are monitoring carbon-related risks
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Interviews
How we run our money: Church Commissioners for England
Church Commissioners for England CIO, Tom Joy, tells Susanna Rust about the fund’s pursuit of genuine diversification and responsible investment.
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Opinion Pieces
Editor's letter: Could CDC provide a solution to the pension income problem?
This month sees the close of a consultation in the UK on a new code of practice for authorisation and supervision of collective defined contribution (CDC) pensions schemes. Trustees will be able to apply to set one up from August this year.