All IPE articles in November 2010 (Online)
View all stories from this issue.
-
NewsBlackRock could lose assets, as NPRF expected to re-assess strategy
IRELAND – BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors could lose significantly, with the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) expected to re-assess its investment strategy after the announcement it would support Ireland's bailout with a €10bn payment.
-
NewsUK government changes tack on pension transfers
UK – The UK government has abandoned plans to prevent defined benefit (DB) pension schemes from transferring their full pensions to defined contribution (DC) schemes.
-
NewsMandate roundup: IPE Quest, Lambeth, Invesco
EUROPE – A Swiss pension fund has tendered a global, unlisted infrastructure mandate using IPE Quest.
-
NewsAsset management roundup: RBC Dexia, Ernst & Young, BlackRock
GLOBAL – A Swiss pension fund has tendered a global, unlisted infrastructure mandate using IPE Quest.
-
NewsSwiss prosecutor estimates BVK's Gloor took €1.1m in bribes
SWITZERLAND – The former head of asset management at Switzerland's BVK is believed to have taken CHF1.5m (€1.1m) in bribes between 1997 and 2010, according to Zurich's public prosecutor.
-
NewsDutch roundup: SPOA, SNPF, PFZW
NETHERLANDS – The pension funds for Dutch public pharmacists (SPOA) and notaries (SNPF) have announced early benefits cuts of 5% and 2%, respectively, that will occur on 1 January 2011.
-
NewsDutch government contributed to schemes' poor health – pension experts
NETHERLANDS – Dutch government policy has contributed to the poor financial position of most pension funds, pension experts have claimed.
-
NewsNorway mulls fee cap for Pension Fund Global after 'reprehensible' contract
NORWAY – The Norwegian government is considering the introduction of an upper limit for management fees for external managers of its NOK2.9trn (€365bn) Government Pension Fund Global after a contract with no limit was branded "reprehensible".
-
NewsDutch watchdog AFM says structural decrease of pension benefits 'inevitable'
NETHERLANDS – The lack of funding and recovery potential at many pension funds is so great that many schemes will be unable to avoid a structural decrease of existing pension benefits, according to Hans Hoogervorst, chairman at communication watchdog AFM.
-
NewsUK roundup: Sackers, TPR, Lehman Brothers, Nortel, Towers Watson, NAPF, Stewardship Code
UK – Pension law firm Sackers has criticised the stance taken by the UK Pensions Regulator (TPR), as well as Lehman Brothers and Nortel Networks UK (NNUK), during a recent court case over the regulator's Financial Support Directive (FSD).
-
NewsPensions funds square up for legal battle with Henderson
UK – Henderson Global Investors and a group of 30 pension funds are squaring up for a courtroom battle as a “final letter before action” has been sent to Henderson by the pension funds’ lawyers.
-
NewsPension schemes at Nutreco, Nedmag avoid early benefits cuts
NETHERLANDS – The €272m pension fund of animal food producer Nutreco said it has avoided early benefits cuts, but added that it could not rule out a discount in 2012.
-
NewsNPRF to contribute up to €10bn toward Ireland's EU bailout
EUROPE – The Irish government has announced details of its bailout agreement with the European Union (EU) that will see the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) contribute as much as €10bn toward the €85bn package.
-
NewsUK roundup: Towers Watson, NEST, Balfour Beatty, Daily Mail and General Trust
UK – Towers Watson has warned that large UK companies are likely to shun the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) in favour of their own pension funds, as they will offer better value over the new defined contribution scheme.
-
NewsSwedish roundup: AP6, Repairshop, Pensionsgruppen, KPA Pension, SPP, Storebrand
SWEDEN – AP6, one of Sweden's national buffer funds, has sold its interests in Repairshop, a repair company for mopeds, after suffering losses of SEK40m (€4.3m) over the last two years, according to reports in the Swedish press.
-
NewsParticipants in Smit pension scheme drop legal action
NETHERLANDS – The €200m pension fund of maritime service provider Smit Internationale will no longer need to cut benefits by more than 13% after its participants accepted a €30m additional contribution offered by Boskalis, the company's new owner.
-
NewsATP to launch venture capital fund for Nordic IT start-ups
EUROPE – Denmark's ATP fund is setting up a new DKK1bn (€134m) venture capital fund to provide fresh capital for Danish and other Nordic companies in the IT and telecommunications sectors.
-
News'Nightmare' in Hungary as government nationalises pension funds
HUNGARY – Hungary has announced plans to pull the plug on the country's mandatory, funded second-pillar pension system, provoking a chorus of protests from the European Commission, the country's pension funds and analysts.
-
NewsLongevity uncertainty may force Dutch giant ABP to increase contributions
NETHERLANDS – The €231bn Dutch civil service scheme ABP may need to raise its contributions to more than 21.4% next year following new longevity predictions.
-
NewsEDHEC outlines ideal investment strategy for sovereign wealth funds
GLOBAL – The investment strategy of a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) should consist of three basic building blocks, including liability hedging and an endowment-hedging portfolio, according to research by the EDHEC Risk-Institute.
