Returns – Page 181
-
News
Cantons reject mandatory full funding
[16:40 CET 06-02] SWITZERLAND – Swiss cantons officials have rejected government proposals to pass a law which would oblige all public funds to become fully-funded over the next 40 years, just as funding levels are falling further.
-
News
Equity losses reduce AP2 by €5.2bn
[16:15 CET 06-02] SWEDEN – Andra AP-fonden (AP2), the Second Swedish National Pension Fund has reported a loss of -24%, or SEK55.1bn (€5.2bn), on its net assets in 2008.
-
News
Pension funds seek fresh delay to indexation label
[16:10 CET 06-02] NETHERLANDS - VB and OPF, the main lobbying organisations for the Dutch pension funds, have called for a further delay to the introduction of the indexation label, as officials say the financial situation is still too unclear to be able to deliver sound forecasts.
-
News
Interest rate hedge limits TNO’s loss
[15:50 CET 06-02] NETHERLANDS - The TNO pension fund’s investments yielded a negative return of almost 5% in 2008, despite adopting a high interest rate hedge.
-
News
ATP hedging avoids draw on reserves
[17:15 CET 05-02] DENMARK – ATP Group, Denmark’s largest pension fund provider, suffered a loss of DKK 25.7bn (€3.4bn) in 2008, though the firm's hedging strategy prevented a need to draw on reserves in what it was described as a "challenging year".
-
News
Gov't claims auto-enrolment will benefit 95%
[17:05 CET 05-02] UK – Auto-enrolment will benefit more than 95% of people in relation to retirement saving despite means-testing, and the “large majority” expected to get double what they contribute, the government has claimed.
-
News
Akzo Nobel scheme loses a fifth
[16:40 CET 05-02] NETHERLANDS - The €3.6bn Dutch pension fund of paints giant Akzo Nobel returned –20.6% on its investments in 2008, as its equity allocation plummeted in value by 42%.
-
News
Public sector 'to cost taxpayers £335bn'
[16:55 CET 04-02] UK – The Institute of Directors (IoD) has suggested public sector workers should be switched to defined contribution (DC) pension arrangements as public sector pensions as funding shortfalls could cost taxpayers £335bn (€371bn) in employer controbutions over the next 50 years.
-
News
State pension hit worst – German poll
[16:00 CET 04-02] GERMANY – Almost half of people interviewed in a recent poll think the current financial crisis will weaken the state pension system but only 12% fear a negative influence on occupational pensions.
-
News
Ombudsman may file further Eq Life report
[15:15 CET 04-02] UK – Ann Abrahams, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, is considering whether to submit a follow-up report on Equitable Life detailing why she finds the government response to her report "unsatisfactory", a committee of MPs has been told.
-
News
Belgian funds return -20.5% in 2008
[16:40 CET 03-02] BELGIUM – Belgian pension funds suffered a negative return of 20.5% in 2008, the Belgian Association of Pension Institutions (BVPI) has revealed.
-
News
Global pension assets drop 18% in 2008
[16:30 CET 03-02] GLOBAL – Economic conditions have resulted in the largest annual decline in global pension fund assets “for many years”, as the total value of pension pots fell 18% in 2008 to $25trn (€19.6trn), according to research from International Financial Services London (IFSL).
-
News
PME campaigns for bespoke recovery approach
[16:25 CET 03-02] NETHERLANDS – Hans van der Windt, director of PME, the €18.7bn pension fund for the metal and electronics sectors, wants the pension regulator to adopt a tailor-made approach that enables pension funds to recover at their individual pace.
-
News
Further delay indexation label - PGB fund
[16:15 CET 03-02] NETHERLANDS - Pensioenfonds Grafische Bedrijven (PGB), the €9bn Dutch pension fund for the printing and publishing industry, has hit out against the planned introduction of an indexation label, arguing it promotes short-termism and is not informative enough.
-
News
BT takes sipp for new DC scheme
[16:00 CET 03-02] UK – BT, the telecoms giant, has appointed Standard Life to provide a new corporate self-invested personal pension (CSIPP) to replace its existing defined contribution (DC) schemes.
-
News
Greencore deficit hits €68m
[16:40 CET 02-02] IRELAND – Greencore, the Irish convenience food manufacturer, has reported the deficit in its defined benefit (DB) pension schemes more than doubled to €68m in 2008.
-
News
Finland to set guaranteed pension level from 2011
[16:30 CET 02-02] FINLAND – The Finnish government has announced a guaranteed minimum pension for pensioners will be introduced in 2011.
-
News
French reserve fund loses a quarter
[16:20 CET 02-02] FRANCE - The Fonds de reserve pour les retraites (FRR) has revealed its assets decline by 24.8% during 2008.
-
News
Cautious DNB examines recovery time
[16:00 CET 02-02] NETHERLANDS - The president of the Dutch central bank and pension regulator will decide before 1 March whether pension funds will be given more time to recover from the credit crisis, though he has stressed in advance he does not favour giving more time to repair their ...
-
FeaturesBeware Japanese proverbs
The experience of Japanese pension funds in the 1990s provides an interesting lesson for Western investors, finds David White
