All IPE articles in November 2005 (Magazine) – Page 5
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Features
Eumedion widens its scope
The Dutch Foundation of Corporate Governance Research for Pension Funds, or SCGOP, has changed its name and plans to widen its membership. The newly named Eumedion will now be open to insurers and asset managers. There will also be a change of management. At a recent annual meeting, it was ...
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Features
Showing the way in Europe
Compared with institutional investors in other countries, Dutch institutions are very receptive to investing in private equity and the largest pension funds in the Netherlands have been investing in private equity for some time, with ABP and PPGM investing in the asset class since 1996 and 1990 respectively. ABP has ...
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Features
The evergreen issue of funding
There has been significant progress made during the past 12 months, in legislative, both enacted and planned, in practical and in conceptual terms regarding pension funding. On the legislative front, the European pension fund directive was implemented into local German law in July of this year. The main changes made ...
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Features
System not right for everyone
The Dutch pension system is widely and properly recognised abroad as sound and robust, and indeed every citizen can rely on a state pension, the AOW, which is the same for all regardless of earned income in the active period. Such state provision is referred to as the ‘first pillar’ ...
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Features
A fork in the road
Some have argued that compulsion is the only way to close the so-called ‘savings gap’ the shortfall between the amount people will need in their retirement and the amount that the state will provide. They say the introduction of compulsory pension contributions is the only way forward, since encouragement to ...
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Features
Hedge funds under scrutiny
Until recently, hedge funds were considered as a ‘black box’ which aimed to deliver absolute returns and stipulated cash as a benchmark. Current research conducted at the London Business School’s hedge fund research centre focuses on two issues. The first pertains to the systematic risks of hedge fund strategies while ...
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Features
Uni-directional world of funds
In Germany, institutional investors are increasingly turning away from Spezialfonds in favour of mutual funds. Experts say this is largely because of the onerous reporting requirements they have to adhere to when invested in Spezialfonds, but there are other factors at play too. “Three or four years ago, there were ...
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Features
Funds in profile
DSM Pension Services Ewout Gillissen, senior investment manager The stock market success of speciality chemicals company DSM, the former petrochemical giant, is being mirrored by the financial success of its pension funds. After the divestment of the petrochemical segment to Saudi Arabia’s SABIC, the in-house pension management supplier DSM Pensions ...
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Features
Investing with the grain
Oil is today’s news. Gold is always news. But what about wheat? Wheat is one of the agricultural commodities, the Cinderella sector of commodities. While energy and metals have attracted the attention of investors, agriculture - a so-called ‘soft’ commodity - has often been overlooked. Yet agricultural commodities have their ...
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Features
Where the grass is greener?
There seem to be two Irelands when it comes to pensions. The first is the dynamic financial centre that is looking to become a pensions hub for Europe once the occupational pension fund directive kicks in. The second by contrast is a country that is wrestling with its very own ...
