All IPE articles in November 2007 (Online)

View all stories from this issue.

  • News

    IPE and EDHEC launch asset manager awards

    2007-11-30T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 30-11] EUROPE – Investment and Pensions Europe (IPE) is teaming up with the EDHEC business school in France to launch a new awards programme recognising excellence in institutional asset management.

  • News

    Legal challenge to Polish retirement age

    2007-11-30T15:30:00Z

    POLAND – Poland’s ombudsman has declared differing retirement ages for men and women is unconstitutional and is challenging it in the Constitutional Court.

  • News

    Just 1 in 99 schemes show ESG best practice

    2007-11-30T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CET 30-11] UK – Only one UK-based local authority pension funds currently demonstrates best practice towards responsible investment, according to research produced by the UK Social Investment Forum.

  • News

    Northumberland taps two for global equity

    2007-11-30T13:00:00Z

    [14:00 CET 30-11] UK – The £614m (€859m) Northumberland county council pension fund has appointed Alliance Bernstein and Prudential M&G Investment Management with a £95m active global equities mandate.

  • News

    Pension supervisors replace president

    2007-11-30T12:30:00Z

    [13:30 CET 30-11] GLOBAL – The International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) said today it has appointed Ross Jones as its new president.

  • News

    Redefine DC categories, argues Nobel laureate

    2007-11-30T12:00:00Z

    [13:00 CET 30-11] GLOBAL – Default categories for defined contribution pensions should be devised according to "prototypes" of employees, Nobel economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz has recommended.

  • News

    Saxony doubles fund with major injection

    2007-11-30T11:00:00Z

    [12:00 CET 30-11] GERMANY – The German Saxony region, which encompasses the cities of Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, has confirmed it will top up its pension fund for civil servants with €500m.

  • News

    Danish pensions body deems ESG safe

    2007-11-30T10:00:00Z

    [11:00 CET 30-11] DENMARK - An official report in Denmark has concluded pensions institutions can take an ethical stance on investments while still fulfilling their legal duty to get the highest possible return.

  • News

    Risk-based levy 'could rise fourfold'

    2007-11-29T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CET 29-11] UK – The UK's Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has been criticised for its decision to raise the funding level, at which schemes pay no risk-based levy, from 125% to 140%.

  • News

    Have Your Say on Solvency II

    2007-11-29T15:30:00Z

    HAVE YOUR SAY: Pension fund and investment experts have been vocal in their initial criticism, and subsequent praise, of Solvency II proposals, which are now expected to exempt pension funds from meeting tighter funding levels under EU law.

  • News

    Review may clarify VAT on pensions-related services

    2007-11-29T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 29-11] EUROPE – The European Commission is conducting a review of existing legislation for value-added tax (VAT) on financial services and insurance companies, which might finally determine whether European pension funds should be exempt from paying VAT on outsourced investment services.

  • News

    Italian chamber clears pensions reform

    2007-11-29T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 29-11] ITALY – The Chamber of Deputies, the Italian parliament's lower house, last night approved a key pensions bill, IPE has learnt.

  • News

    Life cycle investment is 'utter nonsense', claims IPE winner

    2007-11-29T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CET 29-11] AUSTRIA – Changing the asset allocation in a portfolio solely on the basis of the members’ age is “complete nonsense”, as are other strictly “mechanical portfolio management concepts”, according to Christian Böhm, managing director of the Austrian multi-employer pension fund APK.

  • News

    EC questions BT's 'state aid' pensions benefit

    2007-11-29T15:00:00Z

    [16:00 CET 29-11] EUROPE – The European Commission has opened a state aid investigation into the UK Crown guarantee accessible by the BT pension fund, which would guarantee the State pays 75% of pension benefits should the BT Group go bust.

  • News

    Lower contributions requires good indexation - Donner

    2007-11-29T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 29-11] NETHERLANDS - Pension funds are only allowed to use freed-up reserves for premium discounts if they can fulfil the expectations they have raised on indexation, according to Social Affairs minister Piet Hein Donner.

  • News

    Europeans predicted to 'shy away' from hedge funds

    2007-11-29T12:30:00Z

    [13:30 CET 29-11] EUROPE – Growth in institutional hedge funds investments in Europe will stagnate, argued a panel during a discussion on the future of institutional investing in hedge funds yesterday.

  • News

    IPE-QUEST: Dutch fund eyes EM and commodities

    2007-11-29T12:00:00Z

    [13:00 CET 29-11] NETHERLANDS – A Dutch industry-wide pension fund has placed two IPE-Quest searches, the first of which is for an active manager for a $125m (€85m) global emerging markets equity mandate.

  • News

    NAPF questions non-execs independence

    2007-11-28T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CET 28-11] UK – The National Association of Pensions Funds has suggested an independent non-executive director of a company may not be able to continue to be considered ‘independent’ the longer they hold their position.

  • News

    Employers reluctant to top up fund

    2007-11-28T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CET 28-11] UK – Pension scheme sponsors will increasingly avoid putting money into their pension fund, participants were told at a London-based pension scheme funding panel discussion.

  • News

    Axa IM modernises its institutional business

    2007-11-28T15:00:00Z

    [16:00 CET 28-11] UK – Axa Investment Managers has restructured its institutional investment business and divided its team into three operations, in a bid to keep up with changing client needs.