Investor Strategy – Page 205
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ABP-backed fund buys into Dutch utility
NETHERLANDS – Macquarie Bank’s European infrastructure fund, which is backed by institutional investors such as Dutch pension fund ABP, has agreed to buy a 49% stake in utilities group NRE Holding for around €80m.
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Dutch building fund changes name, seeks clients
NETHERLANDS - The Dutch social fund for the building industry, or SFB, has changed its name and says it will intensify its efforts in finding new clients.
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Greece sells telecom stake to pay for pensions
GREECE - The Greek government has agreed to sell 4% of its majority stake in the Hellenic Telecommunication Organization (OTE) to contribute to the voluntary early retirement plan for nearly one third of the firm’s workforce.
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Volkswagen Pension Trust in revamp (Update)
GERMANY - Volkswagen Pension Trust, the pension fund for the German car giant, has completed a sweeping revamp of the way its €1.5bn in pension assets are invested (Updates with clarification, fresh edit).
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Germany’s Rürup wants civil service pension cuts
GERMANY - Professor Bert Rürup, the government adviser on pensions, has provoked the anger of German civil servants by urging the government to cut their pension benefits by one-sixth.
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PensionDanmark to build apartments for rent
DENMARK - Danish industry-wide pension fund PensionDanmark is moving into residential property with a three-year programme to build apartments in three areas of Copenhagen.
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Breedon’s promotion leaves gap at LGIM
UK – Tim Breedon, group director of investments at Legal & General Investment Management, is to take over from L&G group chief executive David Prosser.
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Robeco to assist schemes in voting
NETHERLANDS - Robeco is to offer to assist its larger customers such as pension funds to influence listed companies to meet socially responsible investment criteria.
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ISS targets Europe with Deminor purchase
EUROPE – US-based corporate governance and proxy voting firm Institutional Shareholder Services is to launch a European operation following the purchase of rival Deminor’s governance arm.
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McAlpine taps SEI for equities
UK –Alfred McAlpine Pension Trustees has awarded SEI Investments a £45.6m (€66.3m) global developed markets equity mandate.
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Fortis gets OK for Luxembourg pooled LDI funds
LUXEMBOURG - Fortis Investments says it has received approval for pooled liability-driven investment funds from Luxembourg.
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Equities forgotten as UK schemes shift €58bn
UK – Equities are becoming the “forgotten asset class” as UK pension schemes shifted £40bn (€58.3bn) out of stocks into bonds last year.
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Pensions directive at risk amid German vote
GERMANY - Germany could miss the deadline for transposing the directive on occupational pensions if early elections take place, pension experts say.
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GSAM names Curtis head of sub-advisory
UK - Goldman Sachs Asset Management has appointed Merrill Lynch’s David Curtis to the new role of head of sub-advisory.
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Commodities need governance - consultant
UK - Lack of time and resources are among the factors behind the lack of development in commodities in the UK, according to a Watson Wyatt consultant, Alasdair Macdonald.
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Watson Wyatt names German investment head
GERMANY - Watson Wyatt’s Munich office has hired a senior manager from investment consulting firm FERI to head its German investment consulting team. (Updates with Watson comment.)
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Watson Wyatt questions TAA overlay
GLOBAL - Consulting firm Watson Wyatt has queried the use of tactical asset allocation, saying the evidence to support TAA is "mixed", especially when used to overlay a total fund.
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German BVI sees no need to regulate hedge funds
GERMANY - Fund industry association BVI has urged the government not to tighten regulation of hedge funds active in Germany, arguing that current rules are sufficient.
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Watson Wyatt says Credit Lyonnais case dismissed
UK – Pension consulting firm Watson Wyatt says the negligent advise case brought against it by Credit Lyonnais has been dismissed.
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NAPF: Turner says pension system unfit
UK - Adair Turner says that almost all the new information gathered since his Pension Commission’s first report last October has confirmed that the existing system “is not fit for purpose”.
