Investor Strategy – Page 118
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News
UK equity reliance blurs fiduciary case
UK – Heavy reliance on equities in the UK means fiduciary managers have been unable to stabilise pension scheme’s funding levels, SEI has claimed, which has meant that the fiduciary management industry has been less able to demonstrate its case.
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NPRF increases stake in AIB
IRELAND – The National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) has received almost two million shares in Allied Irish Banks (AIB) worth approximately €250m instead of an annual €280m cash payment.
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UK roundup: Fife, Bluefin and Redington, Unite and Capita
UK – Fife Council is seeking an actuary for its local government pension scheme, while Bluefin and Redington have joined forces to target a new investment consultancy offering to small to medium-sized pension schemes.
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BPK under pressure to make DC switch
SWITZERLAND – The public pension fund of the Swiss canton of the capital city Bern, Bernische Pensionskasse (BPK), is under pressure from member companies to speed up its move away from a defined benefit (DB) scheme to a defined contribution (DC) arrangement.
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BVV to diversify through commodities
GERMANY – The €20.9bn BVV Pensionskasse for German banks saw returns from its bond-heavy portfolio drop last year and is now seeking to increase its diversification by investing in commodities.
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NewsKLM scheme establishes SRI pool and de-risks
NETHERLANDS – The €1.4bn KLM pension fund for cabin staff has set up a ‘green pool’ within its investment portfolio as it develops its socially responsible investment programme (SRI).
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News
Most Swiss trustees held their nerve during the crisis
SWITZERLAND - Close to 90% of Swiss pension funds reviewed their asset allocation following the financial crisis, but only 67% made any subsequent changes, according to a trustee survey conducted at the Fachmesse zweite Saüle conference this week.
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GE Pension Trust’s active commodities strategy unlocked
GLOBAL - An actively managed commodities strategy run for the General Electric Pension Trust in the US has been made available to other institutional investors.
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Towers Watson encourages diversification into reinsurance
GLOBAL – Institutional investors need to further diversify their assets into areas such as reinsurance strategies by using catastrophe bonds and other insurance linked securities, according to Towers Watson.
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German pension funds need more credit research - WPV
GERMANY – The €1.4bn German Versorgungswerk for chartered accountants WPV plans to continue to decrease its exposure bank-related fixed income investments, but will have to seek external advice to do so.
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News
Third of EU workers would retire early for less
EUROPE – A third of workers in Europe would rather retire early and receive less income than continue working past the existing national retirement age, according to research by Aon Consulting.
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German funds look to emerging market debt – HSBC
GERMANY – German pension funds' appetite for fixed income exposure will push them towards investing in emerging market debt, according to HSBC.
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BlackRock figures highlight move to passive strategies
GLOBAL – BlackRock has reported net outflows by institutional investors of $39.6bn (€29.9bn) and inflows of $8.9bn, as the global equity rally and tightening credit spreads have caused investors to reconsider investment strategies and shift from active to passive investments.
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Trustee firm enters fiduciary management with outsourcing model
UK – Atkin Trustees, a UK-based independent trustee firm, is moving into the area of fiduciary management for small pension schemes with the launch of its Scheme Management Outsourcing (SMO) offering.
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News
USS buys stake in Neuberger Berman Secondaries Fund
UK – The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has expanded its private equity investment programme by acquiring a $135m (€101m) interest in the Neuberger Berman Secondary Opportunities Fund II from the Lehman Brothers Estate.
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News
German tax consultants fund to diversify equities and real estate
GERMANY – The €520m pension fund for tax consultants in the German province of Northrhine-Westphalia (NRW) is seeking to diversify its investments through specialist equity and Asian real estate mandates.
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IMF predicts Russian pension fund growth
RUSSIA – The International Monetary Fund has stated expects private pension funds “to grow rapidly” in Russia as pension benefits increasingly become part of salary packages.
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News
Informed pension members are willing to take more risk – study
NETHERLANDS - Dutch employees are more willing to take investment risks with their pension if they have a better insight into the effect their choice will have on their future pension, suggests a study commissioned by the Association of Industry-wide Pensions Funds (VB).
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News
VB questions real cover ratio and ‘soft’ pension rights
NETHERLANDS - The Association of Industry-wide Pension Funds (VB) has expressed serious doubts about the introduction of more conditional rights for pensions members and questioned the use of the real cover ratio as a benchmark for a scheme’s health.
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NewsGerman province mulls an end to PAYG pensions for ministers
GERMANY – Ministers in the north German province of Schleswig-Holstein might in future have to take care of their own pensions if the Green party succeeds.
