All articles by IPE staff – Page 40
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Features
Bonds still predominate
According to data from Bad Homburg-based Feri Institutional Management, the way German pension funds invested at the end of last year didn’t differ too much from a year early. At the end of 2001 pension assets invested in equities represented 26% of the total, mainly allocated to investments in the ...
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Features
Conservatism shows in bond focus
Pension fund investors in Italy remain conservative, with only around 20% of total assets invested in equities. Focusing on the new closed-end pension funds, according to data from Covip, the industry’s supervisory board, at the end of 2001 75% of total assets were invested in fixed income vehicles. Italian bonds ...
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Features
Battle to manage new system
The most discussed issue in the Austrian market during the past few months has been the future of the Abfertigung neu, the reformed severance payment system that is expected to have a huge impact on the development of the country’s corporate pensions market. Under the current system, employers set aside ...
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Features
Housing takes a back seat
According to the National Association of Pension Funds, during the past decade the composition of Icelandic pension funds’ portfolios has changed significantly. Since 1990 the shares of lending for housing finance and direct lending for fund members have fallen, whereas the proportion of equity investing increased very significantly. Figures from ...
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Features
Big investors on red alert
As a consequence of poor investment returns in the equity markets, Danish pension funds are reconsidering their approach to investment. The most recent example is the Danish labour market supplementary first-pillar pension scheme, ATP, which at the end of August announced an important shift from equities into bonds. The fund, ...
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Features
Discussions ahead
Pension reform in France became a key element in this year’s presidential election. The future of the French retirement system was intensively discussed by the social partners, and was one of the hot issues during the electoral campaign. Before the election, opposing candidates Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin publicly clashed ...
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Features
Staying calm in adversity
Figures released in April by the Association of Industry-wide Pension Funds (VB) and the Company Pension Fund Organisation (OPF) showed that the average return for Dutch pension funds during 2001 was –2.8%, after average returns of 10% a year during the past decade. In just over a year, the average ...
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News
Gartmore appoints head of consulting group
UK- Gartmore Investment Management has appointed Shamus Young to the position of head of global consulting group. Young, previously account director on the Gartmore institutional client services team, will be responsible for managing all aspects of Gartmore's relationships with investment consultants and institutional manager of managers.
