GERMANY - The CTA of the Nokia Siemens Networks achieved a 7.3% return on investments last year, while the multi-employer scheme MetallRente managed between 4.5% and 5.1% in 2009.
The young but closed scheme for around 11,000 existing employees of the Nokia Siemens partnership was set up three years ago while pensioners remained with Siemens and new employees get a cash-balance pension plan.
“In the first three years, we only had bond investments like swaps and government bonds which meant we ended 2008 with a 20% positive return,” said Thomas Friese, head of global pensions and insurance at Nokia Siemens Networks in Germany.
Strategic asset allocation only began in 2009, according to the plan, yet that was just the right time to start investing in equities and aim for a target allocation of 11%.
The majority of assets, however, will still be invested in corporate and government bonds, along with a small portion in alternatives: 3% in fund of hedge funds, 5% in real estate and 3% in commodities.
Friese confirmed the €500m CTA is outsourcing all asset management and has also bought a risk-overly strategy to be implemented this year.
The MetallRente, meanwhile, which is used by several companies in the metal working industry and has several differnt retirement scheme offerings, reported a return of 4.5% for the Pensionskasse and 5.1% for the direct insurance plans (“Direktversicherung”), which includes profit-sharing.
Pensionsfonds figures have yet to be published but Heribert Karch, head of MetallRente, had told IPE earlier he is “happy” with the current strategic asset allocation which includes a target of 80% equities.
“However, at the moment the exposure is between 40% and 70% as markets are very volatile,” he explained.
The quota stood at 50% last autumn and was reduced towards the end of the year, but is now heading back up and being gradually increased.
“We are not planning any changes to the strategic asset allocation,” said Karch.
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