All articles by Carolyn Bandel – Page 59
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Weaker UK schemes are ‘more aggressive’ investors
UK – Defined benefit schemes backed by weak sponsoring employers adopt more aggressive investment strategies than the funds with stronger sponsors, according to consultants Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP) Prudence Index study.
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Dutch funds invest in ‘cluster bombs and land mines’ - TV claims
NETHERLANDS – Dutch pension funds have invested nearly €230m in American companies that also produce cluster bombs and landmines, current affairs programme Zembla has claimed.
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Protection fund appoints five new asset managers
UK – The London-based Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has diversified its portfolio and appointed five new fund managers for its £305m (€446.3m) investment fund, set to grow to £5bn by 2009.
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Balls wants more voting disclosure
UK – Almost half of UK institutional investors are now disclosing their voting positions in general meetings but Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury, wants this figure to rise, and urged the industry to come up with a 'comply and explain' code.
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Hoogervorst expected as financial markets head
NETHERLANDS – Former Dutch welfare minister, Hans Hoogervorst is expected to succeed outgoing head of the Dutch financial watchdog, Authority Financial Markets (AFM), Arthur Docters van Leeuwen.
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Cypriots leave €2bn in retirement assets at the bank
CYPRUS – Banks are sitting on €2bn of pension fund assets, according to a survey by consultancy, Hewitt’s Cypriot arm.
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Supreme Court demands disclosure on fund kickbacks
GERMANY – The federal supreme court’s ruling last week on so-called kickback payments could lead to a change in fee structures, says leading German investment fund lawyer, Sven Zeller.
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Swedish first pillar enjoys €7.7bn net inflows
SWEDEN – Sweden’s first pillar pension system reached a net inflow of SEK71bn (€7.7bn) in 2006, further increasing its surplus, according to a report by the Swedish social insurance agency, Försäkringskassan.
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PGGM appoints new chief investment officers
NETHERLANDS – PGGM, the €81bn pension fund for Dutch healthcare and social workers, has made another internal management reshuffle – the second one in just under 14 months.
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Shell Netherlands returns 16.8% in 2006
NETHERLANDS – The Dutch Shell Pension Fund booked a total return of 16.8% in 2006, increasing its entire assets to €18.3bn. The scheme outperformed its benchmark by 3.3%.
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Wednesday people roundup
Citi Alternative Investments, The Pensions Management Institute, ING IM Europe, EDHEC, SGAM, Thames River Capital
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Schroders to close Stockholm office
SWEDEN – Schroders Investment Management is about to close its Stockholm office for all activity except for property. From June 30 its Nordic activities will be co-ordinated from Copenhagen.
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ISS says no to DSM dividend
NETHERLANDS – Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the international consultant for institutional investors and investment managers has advised its clients to vote against Dutch chemicals firm DSM’s loyalty dividend.
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Schroders loses head of Germany
GERMANY – Martin Theisinger, Schroders’ country head for Germany and Austria, has announced he will leave the firm this summer. Achim Küssner, head of Blackrock’s German operations, will take over.
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Employers under fire from Irish Pensions Board
IRELAND – Less than half of employees are offered access to a pension, while just 6% have approached their employer about gaining access, according to research by the Irish Pensions Board.
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KAS Bank poaches Fidelity’s Cudars
UK – British mutual fund manager Fidelity International seeks a new sales director for its institutional cash fund after former sales head Caroline Cudars defected to Dutch securities services bank KAS Bank.
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JP Morgan and State Street under review at Devon
UK – The £2bn (€2.9bn) Devon County Council Pension Fund is reviewing its custodians JP Morgan and State Street, who together hold an £800m custody mandate for the fund.
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Ireland to consider auto-enrolment
IRELAND – A Green Paper on the future of Irish pension provision due to be delivered this month will consider the UK’s auto-enrolment proposals, social affairs minister Seamus Brennan has said.
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Musgrave fund ups bonds, out of active mandates
DUBLIN – The €60m pension fund of Irish retailer Musgrave will reduce its exposure to equities in order to up its bond portfolio.
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Eumedion rejects more transparency on holdings
NETHERLANDS – Dutch institutional investors have rejected the call to be more transparent about their shareholdings, the Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad writes today.
