France: Pensions and Investment News and Analysis
The second pillar has been taking a gradual but firm foothold in France’s hotly contested retirement system. Providers have transferred their funds to IORPs over recent years and assets in the PER workplace pension vehicle are growing. Law changes this year require PERs to hold a minimum allocation to unlisted assets. Since 2022 PER savers have had access to socially responsible, energy transition and social impact-labelled funds. Controversial reforms enacted by President Macron in April 2023 now look reasonably secure, with no appetite in parliament to overturn them.
Pension Funds in France - Country Report
French workplace pensions grow as reform controversy recedes
Macron’s controversial pension reforms look likely to survive, at least for now, and despite the political turmoil of the recent elections
TOP FRENCH PENSION FUNDS 2024
Pension fund/entity | Assets (€’000)
- Agirc-Arrco | 78,500,000
- ERAFP | 45,575,000
- La Mondiale Retraite Supplémentaire | 28,445,000
- Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR) | 21,200,000
- Ircantec |15,850,000
©IPE Research; View the Top 1000 European Pensions Funds 2024 for a comprehensive market overview
Institutional investors launch search for biodiversity fund manager
The fund will focus on private equity segments such as venture capital, growth capital, and buyout capital
Ircantec invests €800m in customised active global equity solution
Mandate is based on Nordea AM’s BetaPlus Responsible Enhanced Equities Strategies
France’s FRR awards Japanese equity mandates worth €400m
The fund appointed FIL GESTION, Nomura Asset Management Europe, and Lombard Odier Funds for a five-year contract
France could save €60bn a year by funding civil service pensions
The Institut Economique Molinari says that since 1977 civil service pension expenditure has tripled from €20bn in 1977 to €62bn in 2023, in real terms
Ircantec puts €250m into sustainable fund from Nomura
The fund is classified as ‘Article 9’ under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation
TOP MANAGERS: FRENCH INSTITUTIONAL ASSETS
Company | Assets (€m)
- Amundi | 744.476*
- Natixis Investment Managers | 472,009
- Ostrum Asset Management | 359,578
- AXA Investment Managers | 234,198**
- BNP Paribas Asset Management | 190,052*
- Ofi Invest | 154,800**
- Generali Investments | 72,986***
- Groupama Asset Management | 64,701
- Allianz Global Investors | 57,366
- Swiss Life Asset Management | 30,652**
As at 30.6.23, *31.3.23, **31.12.22, ***30.6.22
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IPE BEST PENSION FUND IN FRANCE AWARD WINNERS
- 2023 - ERAFP
- 2022 - AG2R La Mondiale
- 2021 - ERAFP
- 2020 - AG2R La Mondiale
- 2019 - AG2R La Mondiale
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Denmark’s pension funds offer a template for an innovative defence investments play
The tone of Europe’s political debate on defence expenditure has shifted markedly this year. And as former Netherlands defence minister Kajsa Ollongren, put it in a Chatham House Q&A in early March: “The mindset should be ‘war economy’.”
Institutional investors launch search for biodiversity fund manager
The fund will focus on private equity segments such as venture capital, growth capital, and buyout capital
Ircantec invests €800m in customised active global equity solution
Mandate is based on Nordea AM’s BetaPlus Responsible Enhanced Equities Strategies
France’s FRR awards Japanese equity mandates worth €400m
The fund appointed FIL GESTION, Nomura Asset Management Europe, and Lombard Odier Funds for a five-year contract
Denmark’s pension funds offer a template for an innovative defence investments play
The tone of Europe’s political debate on defence expenditure has shifted markedly this year. And as former Netherlands defence minister Kajsa Ollongren, put it in a Chatham House Q&A in early March: “The mindset should be ‘war economy’.”
France could save €60bn a year by funding civil service pensions
The Institut Economique Molinari says that since 1977 civil service pension expenditure has tripled from €20bn in 1977 to €62bn in 2023, in real terms
Ircantec puts €250m into sustainable fund from Nomura
The fund is classified as ‘Article 9’ under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation
French pension funds lead project to assess value of shareholder engagement
FRR and ERAFP are part of a new taskforce that will establish best practices for shareholders and lenders
Europe investment outlook: Search for opportunities amid the gloom
We asked fixed-income managers for their views on Europe’s outlook as Germany and France grapple with structural challenges and political uncertainty.
European equities: Bargains or bear traps amid global headwinds?
Despite record valuation gaps with the US, investors remain cautious about European equities. Political turmoil, geopolitical risks, and fears of tariffs under Trump’s presidency cast a shadow, while fund managers pivot toward stock-specific opportunities
ERAFP links share buyback approval to Paris alignment impact
French pension fund approves changes to voting guidelines following in-depth review
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