Investor Strategy – Page 152

  • News

    Merseyside reviews £320m unconstrained bonds

    2009-02-02T15:40:00Z

    [16:40 CET 02-02] UK – Merseyside pension scheme has issued a tender notice for two fixed income managers to run unconstrained sterling broad market mandates equivalent to 8% of the fund’s assets.

  • News

    French reserve fund loses a quarter

    2009-02-02T15:20:00Z

    [16:20 CET 02-02] FRANCE - The Fonds de reserve pour les retraites (FRR) has revealed its assets decline by 24.8% during 2008.

  • News

    Consumer body rallies against recovery plan delay

    2009-02-02T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CET 02-02] NETHERLANDS – Consumentenbond, the large Dutch consumers’ lobbying organisation, has spoken out against calls for a more generous recovery period for underfunded pension funds.

  • News

    Unite agree Ineos deal as sights turn to Selex

    2009-01-30T15:50:00Z

    [16:50 CET 30-01] UK – Unite the Union has confirmed the pensions dispute with INEOS over planned changes to the defined benefit (DB) pension scheme is at an end after revised proposals, such as the scheme remaining open to new entrants, were accepted by members.

  • News

    Merseyside tenders for transition manager panel

    2009-01-30T15:05:00Z

    [16:05 CET 30-01] UK – Merseyside Pension Fund has issued a tender to establish a framework list of transition managers who would aid the movement of assets between investment managers following strategy changes.

  • News

    ABP bleak on recovery prospects

    2009-01-29T15:50:00Z

    [16:50 CET 29-01] NETHERLANDS – ABP, the largest Dutch pension fund which today revealed its assets had dropped by €44bn in 2008 to €173bn, has warned signs of a structural recovery on the equity markets are scarce.

  • News

    Funds blame bulk of decline on interest rates

    2009-01-29T15:40:00Z

    [16:40 CET 29-01] NETHERLANDS – Major pension funds have argued up to two-thirds of the decline in their cover ratios, which now hover between 85% and 100%, was because of the steep drop in interest rates.

  • News

    One in four plans up mortality assumptions

    2009-01-27T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 27-01] UK – More than a quarter of UK pension schemes are planning to switch to a long cohort mortality projection for their mortality assumptions, potentially increasing life expectancy by almost two years, suggests research from Mercer.

  • News

    Progress to sell property for unlisted strategy (UPDATED)

    2009-01-27T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CET 17-01 NETHERLANDS - The Dutch pension fund of food giant Unilever, will sell its entire Dutch direct property portfolio and switch its real estate investment strategy to unlisted international real estate funds.

  • News

    Talking Point: The future of DB schemes

    2009-01-26T15:45:00Z

    TALKING POINT – Research from the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) - suggesting 52%, or 1,000, open defined benefit (DB) schemes could close as a result of the impact of the economic crisis - has raised a debate on whether DB schemes can be saved.

  • News

    Dorset adds £30m to internal UK equity manager

    2009-01-26T15:20:00Z

    [16:20 CET 26-01] UK – Dorset County Council Pension Fund has been advised to increase the assets run by its internal UK equity manager by £30m (€32m), to pull its overall UK equities portfolio back towards the strategic target allocation.

  • News

    2008 volatility hits more Finnish funds

    2009-01-23T15:20:00Z

    [16:20 CET 23-01] FINLAND – Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company has reported a €1.2bn fall in the value of its assets in 2008, according to preliminary figures while Eläke-Fennia saw a negative return of 12% and VER suffered further to lose 15% last year.

  • News

    1,000 open DB plans could switch to DC [updated]

    2009-01-23T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 23-01] UK – More than 50% of open defined benefit (DB) pension schemes could close to new members as a result of the economic crisis, claims new research by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).

  • News

    Pensions funds opt to raise TRS collateral

    2009-01-22T11:00:00Z

    [12:00 CET 22-01] EUROPE – Pensions funds are likely to be paying slightly higher for passive investments since the collapse of Lehman Brothers if using synthethic replication, but are choosing to do by over-collateralising their total return swaps, according to officials at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

  • News

    AP7 mulls more alpha centres

    2009-01-21T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CET 21-01] SWEDEN – The SEK74bn (€6.9bn) Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden (AP7) is planning to review its pure alpha investments to see if it can add more of its ‘alpha centres’.

  • News

    PPM scheme mulls swaps and eurobonds (amended)

    2009-01-20T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 20-01] SWEDEN – The Swedish Premium Pension Authority (PPM) is looking at investing in swaps and eurobonds to restock its buffers, according to its head of financial analyses, Sara Bergström.

  • News

    Merseyside awards equity roles and moves fixed income

    2009-01-19T15:55:00Z

    [16:55 CET 19-01] UK – Merseyside Pension Fund has appointed four new investment managers to run a third of the £3.7bn (€4.1bn) scheme's allocation to UK equities, ahead of plans to start a new search for active fixed income managers.

  • News

    IBEC criticised over pension reform plans

    2009-01-16T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 16-01] IRELAND – The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) has been criticised for recommending new public sector workers should be offered entrance to a defined contribution (DC) scheme with a state guarantee of certain minimum investment returns instead of the existing define benefit (DB) schemes.

  • News

    Merseyside invests in fundamental index fund

    2009-01-15T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CET 15-01] UK – The £4.26bn (€4.8bn) Merseyside local authority pension fund is provided half of the funding for a new enhanced indexation-type fund launched by Nomura Asset Management.

  • News

    PensCorp to deliver Leyland DAF buyout

    2009-01-13T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 13-01] UK – The £230m (€253m) pension fund of the former UK commercial vehicle manufacturer Leyland DAF has tapped Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) to buyout its pension liabilities.