All articles by Barbara Ottawa – Page 78
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Swiss buffers down 2.5%
[17:15 CET 07-11] SWITZERLAND – Swiss Pensionskassen saw their reserve buffers begin to melt in 2007 after two years of significant growth, official statistics have revealed.
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75% of Germans consider occupational pensions safe
[16:25 CET 06-11] GERMANY – Occupational pensions are the second-safest way to save for retirement, according to a new poll, yet a separate study shows more employers are switching to hybrid DB/DC schemes.
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Make second pillar mandatory – union head
[16:00 CET 05-11] GERMANY – The head of one of the largest German unions, IG Metall, Werner Lohre, thinks only a mandatory system can get second pillar participation to the necessary level.
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UBS risk chief returns to troubled division
[14:00 CET 04-11] SWITZERLAND – Joseph Scoby, chief risk officer at UBS, is going back to his former position as head of alternative and quantitative investments – a division which contributed to major losses in UBS’ global asset management.
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Germany attacks pensions tender obligation
[16:30 CET 03-11] GERMANY – Frank Baumeister, from Germany’s social ministry, has criticised rules set by the European Commission requiring all government-led organisations to tender for providers of occupational pensions as unfair and unncecessary.
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Austrian pension funds lose 8.4%
[16:10 CET 03-11] AUSTRIA – Austria's 19 Pensionskassen have fallen 8.4% in value since the beginning of the year and 9.2% over the last 12 months.
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Risk control creates risks, says ex-risk manager
[15:00 CET 31-10] GLOBAL – Part of the current financial crisis is down to uniform risk management systems as they lead to pro-cyclical divestments, a former risk manager has told IPE.
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Crisis "confirms" Solvency II not for pensions - Bayer
[16:00 CET 30-10] GERMANY/EUROPE – Relying solely on a mark-to-market valuation of pension assets and liabilities is too short-sighted and should therefore not be applied to pension funds, according to Stefan Nellshen, chief financial officer at German pharma giant Bayer AG and its Pensionskasse.
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CSR is 'no longer a luxury'
[17:00 CET 29-10] GLOBAL – While corporate social responsibility (CSR) is still treated by some companies as a PR measure, investors see it as an integral way of rebuilding trust, according to delegates at a CSR conference in Vienna.
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News
Allianz harvests seed company
[15:00 CET 28-10] GERMANY – A German SME specialising in seeds and plants has joined the Allianz retirement vehicle.
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Swiss funds bet on Swiss francs
[16:15 CET 27-10] SSWITZERLAND – Home bias is back in fashion as Swiss funds are turning towards investments in Swiss francs, especially domestic bonds – details of the Credit Suisse Pensionskassenindex reveal.
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Czech Republic adds personal pensions into fray
CZECH REPUBLIC – The Czech government is planning to restructure its pension fund system by introducing third pillar personal pension arrangements which are described as being more transparent vehicles but which do not carry a full guarantee.
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NewsSwiss set pensions minimum rate
[15:00 CEST 22-10] SWITZERLAND – The Swiss government has lowered the minimum return rate for Pensionskassen by 0.75 percentage points to 2%.
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No need for second pillar – IHS (updated)
[16:05 CEST 21-10] AUSTRIA – Increasing the real retirement age is enough to ensure people will still be able to live off the state pension in 60 years' time, according to Bernhard Felderer from the Austrian Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS).
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NewsBonds better than real estate - study
[16:25 CEST 20-10] SWITZERLAND – Direct real estate investments failed to help Swiss pension funds’ performances in last quarter but quite the contrary dragged returns down compared with earlier periods, according to a study which does not track the impact of property investments.
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NewsVera/Pevos acquittals are final
[16:45 CEST 17-10] SWITZERLAND – All seven defendants in the Vera/Pevos trial have been officially confirmed as free men, as the public prosecutor had withdrawn his appeal against their acquittal.
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News
UBS spins off riskier assets
[16:00 CEST 16-10] SWITZERLAND – Swiss bank UBS has created a standalone fund which allows the firm to rid itself of illiquid assets burning its balance sheet and raise capital through the Swiss central bank.
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News
Former minister calls for end of three-pillar system
[17:00 CEST 15-10] AUSTRIA – The head of the European Senior Organisation (ESO) Karl Blecha has demanded to scrap the three-pillar retirement system and go back to solely relying on the state as pension provider.
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News
Swiss funds fall 1.6% in Q3
[16:25 CEST 14-10] SWITZERLAND – September delivered the second-worst month in terms of performance this year for Swiss Pensionskassen, as market volatility generated a negative return of –3.25%, according to Credit Suisse.
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Swiss funds stick to allocation
[17:10 CEST 13-10] SWITZERLAND – Swiss funds are in general content with their long-term asset allocation and are only making tactical adjustments, according to consultancy Lusenti.
