All articles by Jan Wagner – Page 3

  • News

    German construction fund bucks equity investment trend

    2007-07-23T15:00:00Z

    16:00 CETS 23-07] GERMANY – ZVK, a €2.9bn Pensionskasse (insurance-type scheme) for Germany’s construction sector, was one of the few among its peers that raised its equity exposure in 2006 – another year of positive stock market returns.

  • News

    Watson Wyatt completes Heissmann acquisition

    2007-07-20T12:30:00Z

    [13:30 CEST 20-07] GERMANY – Watson Wyatt has completed its acquisition of Heissmann, Germany’s leading pensions actuarial and pensions consulting firm with 360 employees and annual revenues of above €50m.

  • News

    Legal battle over Vera/Pevos fund collapse to continue

    2007-07-19T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 19-07] SWITZERLAND – The public prosecutor for the Swiss canton of Solothurn has scored a legal victory in its campaign against those whom it deems responsible for the collapse of the Vera/Pevos pension fund.

  • News

    Private equity firms caution on transparency calls

    2007-07-18T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CEST 18-07] EUROPE – Private equity associations have cautiously welcomed new proposals to increase transparency of their industry, noting any future requirements must not undermine their competitive position.

  • News

    German Pensionskassen give thumbs down to Solvency II

    2007-07-17T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 17-07] GERMANY – VFPK, a new lobby for German Pensionskassen, has rejected the idea of applying the EU’s Solvency II insurance regime to its members, arguing the move would increase their costs and limit investment flexibility.

  • News

    Union sees demand for SRI and portable alpha

    2007-07-16T13:00:00Z

    [14:00 CEST 16-07] GERMANY – Union Investment, the asset manager for Germany’s co-operative bank sector, is rolling out sustainability and portable alpha funds on the back of institutional investor demand.

  • News

    Hoechster Pensionskasse moved out of equities in 2006

    2007-07-13T11:00:00Z

    [12:00 CEST 13-07] GERMANY – Hoechster Pensionskasse (HPK) divested its equity holdings in 2006 despite it being another good year for equities.

  • News

    Hamburg railway Pensionskasse is on par with peers

    2007-07-10T16:05:00Z

    [17:05 CEST 10-07] GERMANY – PHH, a €346m Pensionskasse for employees of Hamburg’s elevated railway, has reported a net return of 5% on its assets for 2006 – unchanged from the previous year.

  • News

    Two in three have German corporate pensions

    2007-07-09T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CEST 09-07] GERMANY – Around two-thirds (65%) of German salaried employees owned some form of corporate pension last year compared with just half in 2001, according to excerpts of a study seen by IPE.

  • News

    AEVWL invests in Luxembourg alternatives

    2007-07-06T10:13:00Z

    [11:13 CEST 06-07] GERMANY – Ärtzeversorgung Westfalen-Lippe (AEVWL), the €7.1bn pension fund for doctors, has allocated €600m to a Luxembourg institutional fund (FCP) which invests in private equity, hedge funds and structured products.

  • News

    BlackRock injunction rejected

    2007-07-05T15:23:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 05-07] GERMANY – A Frankfurt court has dismissed an injunction filed by US asset manager BlackRock against Achim Küssner, the former head of its German operation who joined Schroders as its new German head on Monday.

  • News

    Pensions investors behind 51% of Spezialfonds volume

    2007-07-04T15:30:00Z

    GERMANY – Assets from German pension schemes and insurers account for half of the €699bn in institutional fund (Spezialfonds) volume, according to a study by German asset management association BVI.

  • News

    Swiss transport scheme cuts deficit by 22%

    2007-07-04T15:30:00Z

    SWITZERLAND – Ascoop, a CHF2.25bn (€1.36bn) pension fund for the Swiss transport sector, has made progress in restoring its financial health and cut its funding deficit last year by 22% to CHF622m.

  • News

    Lawsuit overshadows arrival of Schroders head

    2007-07-02T16:04:00Z

    GERMANY – Today’s arrival of Achim Küssner as the new head of Schroders Investment Management in Germany has been overshadowed by a suit filed against Küssner by his former employer, US asset manager BlackRock.

  • News

    EC takes Germany to court over pensions competition

    2007-06-28T16:03:26Z

    [17:03 CEST 28-06] GERMANY – The European Commission is taking Germany to court over the failure of its local governments to award contracts for deferred compensation plans in a manner consistent with EU competition law.

  • News

    German mid-caps could fully fund pensions by 2011

    2007-06-27T15:58:43Z

    GERMANY – Stocks traded on Germany’s mid-cap equity index (MDax) could fully fund their pension schemes by 2011, or just a year later than blue chips traded on the Dax-30, according to Rauser Towers Perrin (RTP).

  • News

    Equities bolster return at Nestlé’s German fund

    2007-06-26T15:41:54Z

    GERMANY – Nestlé Pensionskasse (NPK) finished 2006 with a return of 5% as strong equities compensated for underperforming bonds.

  • News

    Müntefering to extend fiscal exemption

    2007-06-26T10:15:22Z

    [11:15 CEST 26-06] GERMANY – Pensions minister Franz Müntefering has decided to prolong a social tax exemption for deferred compensation plans beyond 2008.

  • News

    Heubeck forms pensions venture with Sparkassen

    2007-06-21T16:10:48Z

    [17:10 CEST 21-06] GERMANY – Heubeck AG, Germany’s best-known actuary, has formed a joint venture with state-owned savings banks (Sparkassen) to provide corporate clients of the banks with actuarial and pension administration services.

  • News

    Swiss pension fund downplays deficit

    2007-06-21T16:09:02Z

    [17:09 CEST 21-06] SWITZERLAND – The head of a pension fund (Pensionskasse) for the Swiss canton of Solothurn has played down the significance of the scheme’s CHF563m (€338m) funding deficit.