All IPE articles in October 2014 (Magazine) – Page 2

  • Country Report

    Portugal: Confidence returns

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Portugal’s supplementary pension funds have increased their equity weightings but are still cautious on fixed-income, writes Gail Moss

  • Opinion Pieces

    Crony capitalism

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    The public gets it. Academics and financial analysts get it. In fact, many experts say it is the most important governance and democracy issue of our time. So why do investors have so little to say about political donations and the corporate capture of politics?

  • Asset Class Reports

    High-yield Bonds & Loans: Covenants and calls

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Joseph Mariathasan and Martin Steward ask whether investors’ traditional protections are getting squeezed out in the convergence of high yield bond and loan markets

  • Asset Class Reports

    High-yield Bonds & Loans: Lien and healthy?

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Jennifer Bollen finds booming leverage markets bringing second-lien debt back into vogue in private equity deals – and in Europe, that can mean mezzanine-like risk 

  • Asset Class Reports

    High-yield Bonds & Loans: Slow but steady progress

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    While some European countries are making progress with respect to non-bank funding for mid-market businesses, others still have some way to go. Yet there is a growing appetite for the standardisation and transparency required to develop this market, write Alexandra Krief and Taron Wade

  • Features

    The big picture

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    ECB president Draghi is certainly making a name for himself with his market-jolting, memorable speeches. In 2012, his strident call that the euro would be saved “whatever it takes” marked, or arguably triggered, Europe’s move out of its crisis. In August, Draghi made a speech in Jackson Hole that surprised many with the nature some of its statements, in particular his opining on Europe’s fiscal policy.

  • Features

    Risk – beyond the numbers

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Risk can always be reduced to a set of numbers. But trustees play an important role both in setting the right risk objectives and in interpreting the signals, writes Gail Moss

  • Spain
    Country Report

    Spain: Home is best

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Gail Moss assesses investment trends for Spanish pension entities, which have recorded their second successive year of high returns 

  • Features

    We’ve been here before

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    It looks like the International Accounting Standards Board has IAS19 in its sights once more, reports Stephen Bouvier

  • Features

    The UK regulator has got its teeth back

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Champagne corks were popping back in August near the UK’s south coast when Brighton-based UK Pensions Regulator (TPR) ended a six-year legal battle with the insolvent Lehman Brothers.

  • Features

    Avoiding the trap

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    The decision by the IFRS interpretations committee to re-examine its asset-ceiling guidance should serve to focus minds once again on how defined-benefit plan sponsors can address the danger of a trapped surplus. Stephen Bouvier explores the issues with two experts from Aon Hewitt’s UK practices

  • Features

    No rush for auto enrolment

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    As part of their commitment to turn around their economies, Spain and Portugal have tackled pension issues, both by reducing expenditure and by taking the first steps towards making retirement systems fairer and more efficient.

  • Special Report

    Real Assets: Material changes

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Is there is a tension at the heart of this month’s special report? On the one hand, we write about markets undergoing significant change. On the other, we deal with issues arising from the pursuit of dependable, boring, long-term cash flows from real assets.

  • Special Report

    Real Assets: Let's roll

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Backwardation is back in commodity futures curves. Martin Steward asks, can investors at last expect to be paid for taking risk in the asset class, or is it a flash in the pan?

  • Special Report

    Real Assets: Digging a way out of the hole

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    The misery index reached a new low in Australia this summer as the mining slump continued to bite. But, as Christopher O’Dea reports, a new round of investment is looming as leading emerging-market producers target a bigger share of revenue from their mineral resources and mining companies cut unprofitable projects

  • Special Report

    Real Assets: Generating returns

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Energy and power in Europe is subject to long-term plans to improve the single market, but also buffeted by the short-term vicissitudes of politics, geopolitics and even natural disaster. Daniel Ben-Ami attempts to clarify the investment themes

  • Special Report

    Real Assets: Real challenges

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Frances Hudson outlines just how many obstacles lie between pension funds and investment in European real assets, and calls for further debt and securitisation to open up the market

  • Special Report

    Real Assets: The sting in the loan tail

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    Frédéric Blanc-Brude and Majid Hasan present a rigorous – yet implementable – framework for measuring the performance of private infrastructure debt

  • Special Report

    Real Assets: Learning from the crisis

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    European commercial real estate debt is a compelling investment opportunity. But Gareck Wilson warns that new entrants must consider the lessons learned during the recentdownturn, as they provide a valuable insight into the potential pitfalls

  • Asset Class Reports

    Time for some caution with this asset class

    October 2014 (Magazine)

    How do you invest in high-yield bonds and loans?