Pension System – Page 287
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Country Report
Switzerland: Efficient stability
Nina Röhrbein reviews current Swiss asset allocation trends
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Country Report
Switzerland: More fairness needed
Pension funds are feeling the pinch in the sovereign debt crisis, writes Gérard Fischer, CEO of Swisscanto. In the long term, they can only deliver their promised benefits through a better distribution of assets, income and recapitalisation contributions between generations
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Country Report
Switzerland: No magic formula
The minimum interest rate in the Swiss second pillar was recently cut from 2% to 1.5% for 2012, writes Barbara Ottawa. But experts believe this is still too high to be sustainable
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Country Report
Switzerland: Life in a safe haven
September’s shock devaluation of the Swiss franc halted the decline in the value of Swiss pension funds’ foreign assets. On the other hand, ultra- low rates are putting extreme pressure on funds. Nina Röhrbein assesses asset allocation in the light of these extremes
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Country Report
Switzerland: The super regulator
Pierre Triponez, president of new Swiss federal pensions supervisory body – the Oberaufsichtskommission (OAK) – discusses his role and remit with Cécile Sourbes
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Features
Alight for full funding
Markus Hübscher, CEO of the Swiss Federal Railways pension fund, told Nina Röhrbein about his fund’s restructuring and new internal governance structure
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Features
Too much of a good thing?
A well structured fund can enjoy a return premium of up to 1%. What governance structures should smaller pension funds aspire to? Gail Moss reports
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NewsNordic roundup: Danica Pension, PenSam, Halkin, BRF Kredit Bank
Danica Pension stumbles in third quarter, but contributions increase by 13%.
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Country Report
The Nordic Region: Nordic investors take a cautious line
Henrik Hoffmann-Fischer outlines key findings on asset allocation, as well as trends on global versus regional mandates, based on the sixth Nordic Investor Survey
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Country Report
The Nordic Region: ‘Luckily, we don’t have Solvency II’
Martin Steward spoke to pension insurer Varma about how it manages its solvency levels and the impact Solvency II-style rules would have
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Country Report
The Nordic Region: Fees under scrutiny
Rachel Fixsen assesses Danish pension funds’ transparency about costs and fees
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Features
Smart Finnish moves
Brendan Maton spoke with Staffan Sevón, chief investment officer at Veritas, about his fund’s hands-on approach to investing
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Country Report
The Nordic Region: Guarantees Too much of a good thing
Guaranteed pensions products in Denmark and Sweden for a long time looked too good to be true and perhaps they are. At least, they are too expensive for the providers to retain, which has led to various strategies – either closing the products for new investors or persuading people to ...
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Country Report
The Nordic Region: Local safe havens: a catch 22
Nordic pension funds have always displayed a bias towards domestically issued fixed income. In the current economic climate, dominated by historically low bond yields and liability-matching, the illiquidity and short maturities that characterise these markets are causing inefficencies in investment models. Nina RÖhrbein reports on the responses of regional players
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Features
Seeking regulatory advantage
Gail Moss reports on the progress pension fund associations are making as they seek to influence future legislation
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Country Report
The Nordic Region: Investing in cleaner solutions
The outlook for investing in renewables, and cleantech in general, ought to be optimistic as the world is fighting to stop global warming and other climate issues. Pirkko Juntunen assesses the approaches of Nordic institutions
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Country Report
The Nordic Region: Solvency II New rules of the game
With full implementation now likely in 2014, Solvency II is looming. Rachel Fixsen examines some of the implications for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish pension institutions
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Country Report
Spain: Shift from conventional assets?
Some see diversification as a trump card as they weather domestic and global economic turbulence, writes Cecile Sourbes
