More comment – Page 51
-
Features
The political dimension of Italy's pensions
Pensions and politics are seldom friends. Politicians, more often than not, seek short-term policy impact; pension systems take time and patience to develop. This tension is unravelling in Italy
-
Opinion Pieces
Long-term Matters: Speak with one voice
Ahead of the Papal Encyclical on climate change last month, an NGO video went viral. Playful but clever, it conveyed the message well: be forceful stewards of God’s kingdom and get fit for the fight
-
Opinion Pieces
Letter from Brussels: Ready with the axe?
The lack of demand rather than supply for both credit and capital is a common criticism from investors of the EU’s capital market union (CMU) programme
-
Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Reform challenge
The head of one of America’s largest financial product providers recently gave a provocative talk on retirement to a think tank based in New York
-
Opinion Pieces
Guest Viewpoint: Paul Smith - CFA Institute
“Investment management industry leaders must develop professionalism at every level of their firms”
-
Opinion Pieces
ESG Viewpoint: The energy transition challenge
Investors need to systematically address secular global mega-trends in their investment selection and portfolio construction strategies. None of those is more critical than climate change
-
Features
QE: Uncertainty is Queen
It is unsurprising that Dutch pension funds sought to voice their concerns about the effect of QE on their sector before that decision was ratified
-
Features
No smoke without fire
There is a strange rhetoric surrounding the recent sell-off in European bonds, which pushed yields up for the first time in many months
-
Opinion Pieces
Long-term Matters: Human capital dilemma
Institutional investors are being asked to take sides in corporate/union disputes, the latest being National Express and Teamsters
-
Features
Sovereign wonderland
Potential investors in Europe’s sovereign bond markets may feel they have stepped into Alice in Wonderland. Many sovereign debt markets are offering return-free risks, and negative bond yields make a mockery of traditional explanations of the time value of money. What we are seeing is the end result of two powerful but opposing forces within Europe that reflect the chaotic responses to the global financial crisis.
-
Opinion Pieces
Letter from Brussels: Awaking a sleep-walking economy
A few more European cross-border lending opportunities have started to emerge. This follows anticipation of the European Investment Plan launched by Jean-Claude Juncker
-
Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: DB pensions bond bind
US corporate pension funds are caught in a dilemma. They are buying long-dated bonds to match their liabilities but in doing so they are driving down their yields, making liabilities look more expensive
-
Opinion Pieces
Guest Viewpoint: Dick Boeijen & Niels Kortleve - PGGM
“The Netherlands can learn from countries with more experience of DC and other countries can profit from Dutch expertise of risk sharing”
-
Features
Hard to explain
The European Central Bank’s QE programme is taking its toll on pension funds as healthy returns are unable to keep pace with liabilities
-
Features
Private equity: Filling the gap
Substantial fees and the plethora of private equity funds available mean that all but the largest institutional investors need external advice and support
-
Features
Nordic countries: Pension risk takers
The Nordic countries are today home to some of the most innovative pension funds, which one observer believes is in part due to an “engineering mentality”
-
Opinion Pieces
Long-term Matters: Can investors be part of the solution to Brazil's crises?
Investors in Brazil have been largerly absent from the separate crises over water and corruption shaking the country
-
Opinion Pieces
Letter from Brussels: Bond market scrutiny
There has been a flurry of activity and comment from industry groups on the subject of bond market liquidity
-
Opinion Pieces
Letter from the US: Pensions push on climate change
US pension funds are using the meetings to push forward their agenda on climate change
-
Opinion Pieces
Guest Viewpoint: Anton van Nunen - Van Nunen & Partners
“Pension funds should be clearly distinguished from insurance companies because their objective is to manage risks, rather than hedge them”
