All articles by Jan Wagner – Page 3
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News
German construction fund bucks equity investment trend
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.
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Watson Wyatt completes Heissmann acquisition
[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.
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Legal battle over Vera/Pevos fund collapse to continue
[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.
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Private equity firms caution on transparency calls
[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.
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German Pensionskassen give thumbs down to Solvency II
[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.
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Union sees demand for SRI and portable alpha
[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.
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Hoechster Pensionskasse moved out of equities in 2006
[12:00 CEST 13-07] GERMANY – Hoechster Pensionskasse (HPK) divested its equity holdings in 2006 despite it being another good year for equities.
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Hamburg railway Pensionskasse is on par with peers
[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.
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Two in three have German corporate pensions
[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.
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News
AEVWL invests in Luxembourg alternatives
[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.
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BlackRock injunction rejected
[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.
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Pensions investors behind 51% of Spezialfonds volume
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.
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Swiss transport scheme cuts deficit by 22%
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.
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Lawsuit overshadows arrival of Schroders head
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.
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EC takes Germany to court over pensions competition
[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.
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German mid-caps could fully fund pensions by 2011
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).
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Equities bolster return at Nestlé’s German fund
GERMANY – Nestlé Pensionskasse (NPK) finished 2006 with a return of 5% as strong equities compensated for underperforming bonds.
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Müntefering to extend fiscal exemption
[11:15 CEST 26-06] GERMANY – Pensions minister Franz Müntefering has decided to prolong a social tax exemption for deferred compensation plans beyond 2008.
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Heubeck forms pensions venture with Sparkassen
[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.
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Swiss pension fund downplays deficit
[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.