All articles by Martin Hurst – Page 3
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News
Swiss cut unemployed pension contributions
SWITZERLAND – The Swiss parliament has approved a change to regulations governing the compulsory professional pensions of unemployed people, lowering contribution rates from 2.2% to 1.1% of daily wage.
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Features
Progress means growing pains
In Hungary the average state pension stands at around HUF57,000 (E229) per month, and only around 10% of the population have state pension of more than HUF100,000. Not surprisingly, during the 1990s, as inflation took hold and raced ahead of state pensions Hungarians started to realise that they would have ...
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Special Report
Inform, on form
SRI is still a relatively new concept which is still considered by many to be some way down the list of priorities as companies and their senior executives feel the pressure to focus more and more on the bottom line. The reason it finds itself so far down the list ...
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Special Report
Going with the two-way flow
Only around 20% of company reports include information on stakeholder engagement, according to a recent survey – Corporate Responsibility – a United State? – carried out by Context, a London-based corporate responsibility (CR) communications and strategy consultancy. “One can assume that if a company is not reporting on it then ...
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Features
Asset managers rise to challenges
One of the greatest challenges facing the Irish pensions market at present is the average funding level of Irish pension funds, which stands at around 70%. This came about largely due to high equity exposures at the time of the stock market turmoil and today restricts the room for manoeuvre ...
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Special Report
Going for engagement
By the end of the first quarter of next year ABN Amro will have rolled out its SRI offering to France, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. The offering is based on the approach adopted by the bank’s Swedish subsidiary Banco Fonder, the main centre of ABN Amro’s SRI activity ...
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Special Report
Double jeopardy
The emerging market spells a quantum leap in investment risk for most pension funds which now view them as an essential alpha generator as traditional asset classes have become both more unpredictable and disappointing in terms of their returns. But what of the newly coined ‘emerging emerging market?’ A class ...
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Features
Tour de force?
The French seem to enjoy making things complicated and in constructing their system of retirement provision they have been true to form. With a mesmerising combination of federations, associations, institutions, groups and sub-groups, observers have their work cut out to make their way round the complex maze that is the ...
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Features
Markets on the move
Swedish pension funds are in a state of culture shock as they get to grips with two new major pieces of legislation. All will have to raise their game as the occupational pensions directive opens up a veritable smorgasbord of investment choice but in return demands prudence. Meanwhile, the authorities ...
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Features
Northern lights
Norway’s long-awaited pension reform allowing defined contribution (DC) schemes will come into effect next year. Among the main provisions is that all employers with two or more employees will have to provide some type of pension plan for their staff. This will bring 600,000 new pension savers onto the market. ...
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Special Report
Vive la différence?
One of the biggest challenges of an investor seeking to engage on matters of corporate governance is understanding and then working with the multiplicity of different corporate structures and share-owning cultures that exist around the world. Hermes Pensions Management, 100% owned by the BT Pension Fund, is just such an ...
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Features
Don't look back
The Finnish pension system is still over-regulated and not structured in way that meets the long-term interests of pension funds. Lobbying has had some impact but as yet this is insufficient . It appears that the market has yet to convince its regulator that the idea that taking a forward-looking ...
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News
Sweden’s PPM may be merged - Könberg
SWEDEN - The Premium Pension System (PPM) may merge with the Social Insurance Administration (Försäkringskassan), according to one of the architects of Sweden’s pension reform.
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Special Report
Seeing the wood
The principle of keeping things simple may well turn out to be critical in gaining widespread acceptance of environmental reporting requirements. Simon Thomas is chief executive at Trucost, a research consultancy which specialises in measuring the impact companies have on the environment. He refers to a recent report compiled by ...
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Features
Reforms eluding Mañana market
Since joining the EU the Spanish economy has become one of the most dynamic in Europe. But as business flourishes in what was once a rather sleepy – not to mention sickly – backwater, old habits – and clichés – die hard as growth of the second pillar pensions system ...
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Features
More than just cosmetic
The main focus of those responsible for pensions of Bayer’s 93,000 employees worldwide has been the move from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC). “This year we have concluded the process with the completion of the move of our US employees to the DC system,” says Lutz Cardinal von ...
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Special Report
Inclusion boosts engagement
In September independent Stockholm-based SRI analysis house GES Investment Services launched a web-based extension to its active engagement service that will enable its institutional investor clients to become more involved in the engagement process. “There is a need for an engagement/discussion forum for clients,” says GES marketing director Henrik Af ...
