More comment – Page 68
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Opinion Pieces
Long-term Matters: Musical chairs
In recent years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) teams have tried to get closer -– both intellectually and in seating arrangements – to the company’s active equity portfolio managers. And for good reason: these were the company’s stars. All this led, quite naturally, to a heavy focus on ESG alpha. ...
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Opinion Pieces
Lans Bovenberg & Casper van Ewijk
The EU debt crisis is making further private funding of pensions more desirable. More private retirement saving is necessary to maintain income in old age when public pensions are being cut due to the crisis. Indeed, the implicit debt in the extensive pay-as-you-go (PAYG) arrangements are an important reason behind the European debt crisis. The best way to address the crisis is to cut entitlement programmes in the medium to long term, while leaving more fiscal room to cushion the economy today.
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Opinion Pieces
Building sector pensions
The European Association of Paritarian Institution’s (AEIP) is working on a continent and sector-wide pension system for the building industry. Francesco Briganti, director of AEIP’s Brussels office, says it aims to create a sector-wide social scheme that could eventually pool pension contributions. Overall benefits would be the spread of best practice in this vast industrial sector.
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Opinion Pieces
Saving, the Texas way
Galveston County, Texas, is no longer famous solely for the hurricane that devastated the area killing an estimated 8,000 people in September 1908, the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the US. Now the county is cited as an alternative ‘Texas’ model for fixing Social Security.
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NewsThe 'Occupy' protests: We are the 99% – but also the 10%
Martin Steward explores some of the movement's contradictions and ironies.
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NewsJeremy Woolfe on the Belgian pensions system
There are many ways to skin the pensions cat – Belgium may have discovered the best one.
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NewsBlue Sky's Van der Stee: Cut those benefits, already!
Dutch trustees must 'take responsibility' and cuts benefits if their schemes are under water.
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NewsFull-time risk managers: Back to the future?
DB pension funds are becoming full-time risk managers. Benjie Fraser wonders what that will look like.
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News
Will the 'new balanced' be the new bland?
Balanced multi-asset is back. Stephen Oxley hopes the old mediocrity doesn’t come with it.
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NewsThe UK's QE2: Good for the economy, bad for pensions?
QE2 may be good for companies, but it will be a blow for long-suffering pension funds.
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NewsAgeing populations and their effect on asset prices
The idea asset prices will plummet as baby boomers retire is misplaced, argues Mirko Cardinale.
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NewsCarlos Joly: I support the Tobin Tax and UNPRI members should do the same
Joly praises "spine" of EU politicians and explains why the tax will help pension funds.
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NewsInterest rate hedging in the wake of the Dutch Pension Agreement
Mariska van der Westen sets out to dispel myth Pension Agreement downplays importance of hedging.
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Opinion Pieces
Peter Kraneveld: Adviser to APG: Is it time to change?”
“In the US, no one doubts public pension funds are a class apart. The distinction is rarely made in Europe.
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Opinion Pieces
Consensus elusive
The US retirement system might change dramatically by year’s end; or pension reform could be postponed again until after the 2012 presidential election. Either way, the debate about how to prevent the bankruptcy of social security is hotter than ever.
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Opinion Pieces
Thoughtful ownership
Investment managers too often have very little understanding of the businesses in which they are investing, delegates were told at a meeting in Brussels during the launch of a new study on stewardship.
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News
Peter Kraneveld on the 'Tobin tax': The problem of economists (or lack thereof)
Pensions industry veteran questions wisdom behind the ‘financial transaction tax’.
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NewsDon't stop believing: The benefits of the unfunded DB model
Con Keating, head of research at Brighton Rock, makes the case for the insured, unfunded DB scheme.
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NewsOperation Twist and its effect on DB pension schemes
SSgA's Ben Clissold looks at the impact of the US Federal Reserve's latest manoeuvre.
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NewsThe woeful state of DC governance
Spence & Partners on how governance is more honoured in the breach than the observance.





