Investor Strategy – Page 149
-
News
Pension funds consider valuation date shift
[16:45 CET 16-03] UK – Pension funds might be able to improve their pension funding valuations by a fraction if they shift the exact date on they assess all of their assets each year away from popular target dates in December and March.
-
News
Pensioners work longer for incentives - APG
[16:25 CET 16-03] NETHERLANDS - APG Group has presented evidence suggesting pension funds’ participants will work for almost 18 months more than they originally planned before retiring if they are incentivised to do so.
-
News
Dutch schemes lost €86bn in Q4
[16:10 CET 13-03] NETHERLANDS - Dutch pension funds’ combined investments in equity and fixed income decreased by 19% to €529bn during the fourth quarter of 2008, according to De Nederlandsche Bank.
-
News
LGIM picks up East Sussex mandate
[16:50 CET 12-03] UK - East Sussex County Council has appointed Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) to run a specialist £275m (€295m) passive UK equity mandate.
-
News
AP3 forced to admit shortcomings in risk management
[17:10 CET 11-03] SWEDEN - The third Swedish national pension fund, AP3, has admitted it lacked the capacity to deal with the financial crisis as returns on assets fell sharply last year to create a 18.8% net loss.
-
News
Norway opts for equities to combat negative bond returns
[17:00 CET 11-03] NORWAY – The Norway Government Pension Fund – Global has been forced to review its short-term investment strategy following the worst results in the scheme’s history.
-
News
John Lewis sees leap in DB scheme demand
[16:20 CET 11-03] UK – John Lewis Partnership, the high street chain, saw over 11,000 employees, or ‘partners’ as they are known within the firm, join its defined benefit last year when the terms were changed to open further access.
-
News
FI flags potential risk control issues
[15:40 CET 11-03] SWEDEN – Swedish occupational pension funds generally have no large holdings of complex financial instruments, although in a few cases the Finansinspektionen (FI) has highlighted possible deficiencies in related risk control functions.
-
News
Fidelity loses Tyne & Wear's UK mandate
[17:15 CET 10-03] UK – The £3bn (€3.25bn) Tyne & Wear Pension Fund has confirmed it terminated its UK equity mandate with Fidelity at the end of last year.
-
News
Crisis forces pensions measures back to gilts
[16:55 CET 09-03] UK – Hewitt Associates has conducted a study of 50 pension fund clients which suggests all will in future base their defined benefit funding assumptions on a gilts-based measure, even though it could increase liabilities by up to 30%.
-
News
EC admits 'pensions are not immune to crisis'
[16:25 CET 09-03] EUROPE – European pension funds have not suffered during the ongoing economic crisis in the same way as other financial institutions, according to the European Commission, but defined benefit schemes in particular are likely to see “challenges” as they struggle to pull back their funding balances.
-
News
Local authorities hold over €1bn in Icelandic banks
[17:05 CET 06-03] UK – Local authorities in England have reported investments totalling £923.2m (€1.03bn) in Icelandic banks at the end of 2008, some of which may have been held on behalf of pension funds.
-
News
2012 contributions may be less than expected
[16:55 CET 06-03] UK – Watson Wyatt has warned workers auto-enrolled into occupational schemes after 2012 could have an “exaggerated impression” of the size of their pension as typical minimum contribution rates into qualifying pension schemes will never be more than 6.8% of gross earnings.
-
NewsGerman pension vehicles to diversify - Mercer
[16:45 CET 06-03] GERMANY – Retirement providers in Germany are likely to maintain one of the lowest equity exposures in Europe as a result of recent market turbulence but will continue to diversify into other strategies, consultancy Mercer has told IPE.
-
News
Committee to screen schemes’ investment policy - Donner
[16:00 CET 06-03] NETHERLANDS - Social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner will establish an independent committee to find out whether the investment policy of pension funds has landed them in their precarious financial position following the credit crisis.
-
News
Etera drops €1bn in 2008
[14:00 CET 06-03] FINLAND – Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company saw its market share fall to 5.6% in 2008 and has reported an overall loss of €1.03bn following a negative investment performance.
-
NewsUnion anger over Finnish retirement increase
[17:10 CET 05-03] FINLAND – The three trade union confederations in Finland are organising a national meeting of trustees, or shop stewards, next week against the government's plans to increase the retirement age without consultation.
-
News
ITV considers DB changes as deficit hits £178m
[17:15 CET 04-03] UK – ITV, the commercial broadcast company, has reported a “lower than speculated” £178m (€200m) deficit in its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme but confirmed it is to begin a consultation on possible changes to the plan.
-
News
Gov't shareholders are 'the new normal' - Pimco
[16:40 CET 04-03] GLOBAL – Asset management house Pimco is advising investors will have to rethink what makes a good investment in the coming years as governments are changing the investment game by acting as shareholders.
-
News
North Yorks to drop Hermes European focus
[17:05 CET 03-03] UK –North Yorkshire County Council has decided to divest its £878.8m (€979.4m) pension fund from a holding in the Hermes Focus Asset Management’s European Focus Fund, following a combination of poor performance and staff departures.
