Asset Allocation – Page 119
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Features
Unsettling times
Yield curve/duration At the very heart of the financial system, money markets remain almost paralysed and it is here that the recovery must start. Neither the global financial market nor the real economy can function without them. Without access to short-term funding, the banks are forced to sell assets as ...
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Features
Polish reforms take shape
Polish pension reforms began in 1999, but the presentation of new legislation relating to bridging pensions, annuities and the programmed withdrawal of funds suggests the reforms of the second pensions pillar could be completed just as the first pensions are paid next year. Ten years ago, Poland introduced a new ...
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Special ReportMind the gap
Public sector pension institutions play an important, if often controversial, role in the Swiss pensions arena, argues Graziano Lusenti
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FeaturesLänsförsäkringar’s fruit leaves sour note
Many institutional investors shun hedge funds as opaque in process and therefore difficult to comprehend. Such investors can always fall back on the Warren Buffett adage that if you do not understand something, you should not invest in it. Far rarer are those institutions that have tasted the fruits of ...
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FeaturesThe improving image of EMD
The increasing importance of emerging market debt as an asset class reflects the seismic shift we are witnessing as power and relative wealth moves from the developed markets to the developing, argues Joseph Mariathasan
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Features
The Fannie and Freddie effect
The apparent end of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac uncertainty, following the de-facto government takeover in September, sent shares in the two quasi-governmental mortgage lenders tumbling, further decimating the considerable holdings of US pension funds in the mortgage giants. This new ‘conservatorship’ raises immediate questions about the fate of ...
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Features
INVESTMENT DIRECTOR’s DIARY
Revolution at Wasserdicht Pension Funds. The whole investment team is debating the targeting of third-party assets. From Brussels to Vienna and Frankfurt to London, our sharpest minds are congregating in Amsterdam to discuss how we would do this. Jean from Bruxelles began proceedings: “We should ask smaller pension funds to ...
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Features
INVESTMENT DIRECTOR’s DIARY
We have been very busy. Managers have been letting us know of our exposures to financials and we have even been discussing the merits of an ex-financials benchmark. The question is where is the bottom to all this mess? Word of advice: do not rely totally on your black-box quant ...
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Features
Reforms on test from crisis
The global financial crisis has sparked a review of Finnish pension reforms. Reeta Paakkinen reports
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FeaturesFinnish firms keep it cool
Finland’s pension funds remain unfazed by recent market developments although some are reassessing their asset allocation, finds Reeta Paakkinen
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Features
The crunch continues
Yield curve/duration The credit crunch is now manifesting itself in the form of the massive writedowns by scores of financial institutions. The focus has moved from sub-prime to collateralised debt obligations of asset backed securities (CDOs of ABSs) to asset backed commercial paper (ABCP) as the disease spreads to the ...
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FeaturesThe shape of things to come
Mn Services is increasing the allocations of emerging market assets in its portfolios. Joseph Mariathasan finds out why
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Special Report
Where pension funds can and can’t excel: Watson Wyatt’s view
While certain aspects of governance may need to be enhanced when using external managers, this should not necessarily deter pension funds from continuing to use them, rather than build an in-house team, according to Watson Wyatt. The pension consultants say that research conducted by Roger Urwin, global head of investment ...
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FeaturesDodging the sub-prime bullet
It is 10 years since PIMCO, the fixed income manager based in the US, began operations in Europe as PIMCO Europe. Since then, it has grown from an operation with a fingernail hold on the European market to one with a substantial presence in Europe. PIMCO Europe’s London headquarters, set ...
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FeaturesPPM overhaul offers a better choice
Sweden’s PPM system is being overhauled. Mikael Nyman explains the reasons why and outlines the new landscape
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Special Report
Home or away?
Who should manage your money? Many of our readers have successfully managed their own portfolios for years and remain happy to continue doing so. We sought your opinions on the value of doing it yourself as opposed to outsourcing.
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Special ReportAllocation at a time of crisis
Iceland’s pension fund sector has undergone considerable consolidation over recent years. “The funds were formed at the insistence of the trade unions and initially there were nearly 100 of them as each union wanted to have its own fund,” says Hrafn Magnusson, (pictured right) managing director of National Association of ...
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FeaturesUK asset managers equipped to survive storm?
An emphasis on diversified investment strategies over the past few years could help guide the UK pension industry through the current volatile financial climate. Gill Wadsworth reports
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Features
Shot in the arm for pooling
Shell Asset Management Company’s decision to award a multinational pooling mandate to JPMorgan is expected to trigger more big deals. But Iain Morse finds there may be hurdles in the way
