Comment
IPE’s columnists and guest writers dig into the hot topics for the pensions and investment industries with thoughtful commentary and reaction from around the world
Viewpoint: Trump’s SEC pick points to reduced proxy power for shareholders
With Paul Aktins as chair, the US regulator can be expected to roll back policies supporting ESG goals, according to lawyers at Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP
From the editor
Preparedness: a new asset class?
Wars are famously costly. Most people would agree that preventing them is infinitely preferable to paying for them.
Viewpoint
The private credit market needs careful monitoring
European institutional investors seem to be in a bind. Equities performed well this year, but market concentration remains at record levels and many investors expect a correction. Returns from bonds have been mostly positive, but that could change if inflation flares up again. The real estate market may be starting to recover, but it is early days, and the recovery may not be linear.
Big Swedish providers raise pension switch worries
Pension transfers are big business in Sweden, and the market could be described as booming right now.
Australians seek €3.1bn in lost superannuation contributions
In 2021-22, one in four Australian workers missed out on their superannuation contributions. The total lost was A$5.1bn (€3.1bn), despite the country having a compulsory superannuation system.
Future of ESG investing in doubt following decisive Trump victory
In the past two years, an anti-ESG backlash has grown strong roots on the American right.
The importance of board decisions in an uncertain world
In the foreword to this new book, the CIO of CERN Pension Fund, Dr Elena Manola-Bonthond, says that, in her experience, investment alpha is scarce and very often difficult to access. It can be costly and its persistence is sometimes questionable. But there are other types of alpha that are more accessible and governance alpha is definitely one of them.
Book review: The Financial Markets of Ancient Egypt – Risk and Return
“If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us. But passion and party blind our eyes.”
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Will pensions save the savings and investments union?
One only needs to glance over the first page of the recent Draghi report on European competitiveness to find that the European economy is in crisis.
The size of Australia’s super funds could threaten the financial system
Australia’s central bank has warned that rapid growth of the nation’s superannuation system could “amplify” shocks to the country’s financial stability.
Endowment funds stick with alternatives despite headwinds
Disappointing returns in the last fiscal year may force US university endowments to rethink their investment strategies, but could this include moving away from the so-called Yale model that focuses on alternative investments?
Swiss pension funds reform second-pillar pensions from the bottom up
September’s referendum on the reform of second-pillar pensions demonstrates that comprehensive proposals engineered from the top down don’t always bring the expected results. The latest proposal was roundly defeated by two thirds of the electorate.
Europe’s right wing can break pensions
Now that they hold power in several European countries, radical right-wing parties can make or break Europe’s pension systems.
Focus falls on finance for real-economy decarbonisation
This month’s COP29 climate summit will focus on finance
Is it time to add a new layer to strategic asset allocation?
For years, strategic asset allocation (SAA) has been a cornerstone of investment for pension funds and other institutional investors. Is sustainability a missing ingredient?
Disagreements over pension reform persist in the Netherlands
When King Willem-Alexander read out his speech at the opening of the Dutch parliament, the topic of pensions was missing.
Investors must work together to improve AI stewardship
While perhaps the same cannot be said about climate change, there seems to be a consensus about artificial intelligence (AI) in the United Nations General Assembly.
The EU needs a few more AP7s
Europe sure does not have a savings problem – EU household savings amounted to €1.4trn in 2022 versus €840bn in the US. What Europe does have, though, is a glut of bank savings capital that serves as a double bind.
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