All articles by Helen Avery – Page 14
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BONY names head of new portfolio trade arm
UK – The Bank of New York has appointed Karin Russell-Wiederkehr to head up European sales for its new London-based portfolio trading business, G-Port.
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Swiss pension funds post first-half returns of +4.5%
SWITZERLAND – The median return for Swiss pension funds in the first half of the year was +4.5% according to Watson Wyatt and the Swiss Pension Fund Association, ASIP.
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Allianz Leben says non-Riester business strong
GERMANY – Allianz Leben has reported a strong performance in its pensions business in the first half as a growing number of people are turning to private pension schemes, but Riester pensions are still “disappointing”.
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E.ON pension fund taps MLIM for small-caps
UK/GERMANY – The pension fund of German energy company E.ON has appointed Merrill Lynch Investment Managers to run a European small-cap equity mandate.
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UK switch to DC costs staff E2.3bn - report
UK – The switch from defined benefit to defined contribution schemes has cost employees up to 1.6 billion pounds (2.3 billion euros) in pensions contributions a year, according to Close Wealth Management.
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France: pensions hit EdF's credit rating
FRANCE – French utility Electricite de France has seen its long-term credit rating downgraded by S&P as a result of its unfunded pensions liabilities.
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Danish investment fund assets rise by E605m
DENMARK – Net assets in Danish investment funds increased by 4.5 billion Danish crowns (605 million euros) in the month to the end of July, according to data from the Federation of Danish Investment Associations.
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Swiss unions protest at pension “robbery” by insurers
SWITZERLAND – Members of the Swiss industrial and building union, SIB, have protested against plans by Winterthur to lower pension conversion rates and hike premiums - with one official likening the matter to robbery.
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Belgian pension fund returns at 4-year high
BELGIUM – Belgian pension funds have produced the highest first-half returns in four years, according to data from ABIP, the Belgian association of pension funds.
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UK’s OPRA updates winding-up publication
UK – OPRA, the UK occupational pensions regulatory authority has produced an updated publication about winding up defined benefit schemes aimed at trustees, advisers and insolvency practitioners.
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Russell/Mellon CAPS hires ex-DeAM marketer Jasani
UK – Russell/Mellon CAPS has bolstered its marketing team with addition of Bella Jasani and Tony Novo.
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Credit Suisse AM sees asset-allocation role
EUROPE – Institutional investors will increasingly seek asset-allocation advice from their fund managers rather than from their consultant, believes Credit Suisse Asset Management.
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Sweden's AP3 posts first-half returns of +6.9%
SWEDEN – The third Swedish national pension fund, Tredje AP-Fonden or AP3, has reported positive returns of 6.9% for the first half of this year, even though property investments failed to perform.
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NAPF to push investing in smaller companies
UK – The National Association of Pensions Funds is in talks with the Quoted Companies Alliance about how to inform its members about investing in smaller companies.
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French pensions bill gets rubber stamp
FRANCE – France’s constitutional council has validated the new pensions bill, marking the final stage of the lengthy pensions reform process.
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UK pensions complaints rise 26% - ombudsman
UK – Pensions complaints are increasing at such a rate, 26%, that the pensions ombudsman is finding it difficult to cope.
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Unilever’s missing vote mystery partly solved
UK/NETHERLANDS - US proxy voting agency Institutional Shareholder Services has admitted to being partly responsible for the millions of lost votes at Unilever’s annual meeting.
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Mercer hosts seminars on moving to DC
UK – Mercer Human Resource Consulting is hosting a series of half-day seminars on the challenge of moving to a defined contribution pension scheme.
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SGAM UK’s new CEO confident going forward
UK – SGAM UK’s new chief executive, Keith Percy, says he is confident that the changes made to the UK equity team are working, and that consultants and clients will stand by them.
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Allianz: still no asset management profits
GERMANY – Allianz Group’s asset management business is still unprofitable, despite increasing its assets by 3.1% over the first half of this year to 1.02 trillion euros.
