All articles by Jan Wagner – Page 4
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News
BVI warns CGT may hurt German competitiveness
[13:02 CEST 20-06] GERMANY – Fund industry association BVI has warned the competitiveness of Germany as a financial centre may suffer unless the government amends a planned capital gains tax (CGT) on funds.
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Swiss government approves pension funds oversight rules
[11:00 CEST 19-06] SWITZERLAND – The Swiss government has approved a draft law designed to improve pension regulation and tighten best practice standards for pension fund (Pensionskassen) managers.
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Outgoing Schroders head to join Fortis
[11:07 CEST 18-06] GERMANY – Martin Theisinger, currently German head for Schroders Investment Management, will join Belgian manager Fortis Investments in September as its new head of client relationship management for Germany, Austria and CEE.
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Bosch chooses actuary
[16:56 CEST 15-06] GERMANY – White goods producer Bosch has chosen BodeHewitt as its pensions actuary for the company from 2008.
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Low bond yields depress German bank fund BVV return
[16:41 CEST 14-06] GERMANY – BVV, an €18.6bn pension fund for Germany’s financial sector, says its return on assets fell to 5.1% in 2006 from 5.4% in 2005 as continued low bond yields depressed its fixed income-laden portfolio.
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German managers "at disadvantage" in commodities and LDI - Fitch
[13:17 CEST 13-06] GERMANY – Asset managers in Germany are at a competitive disadvantage to interloping foreign houses in the commodities and liability-driven investments (LDI) markets, Fitch Ratings has claimed.
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Conservative German fund raises equity exposure
[13:04 CEST 12-06] GERMANY – PKDW, a €1.1bn pension fund traditionally known for investing heavily in fixed income, has raised its exposure to equities and made an inaugural investment in private equity.
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German state pension drops below OECD average
[15:51 CEST 11/06] GERMANY – The maximum state pension benefit in Germany will fall below the average for 30 OECD countries because of government reforms enacted earlier this century, according to a new study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
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News
Swiss pensions architect quits board after questions
[17:05 CEST 08/06] SWITZERLAND – Professor Carl Helbling, one of the architects of Switzerland’s corporate pension system, has abandoned his board seat at a Swiss pension fund following questions about his involvement in the attempted sale of a fund affiliation.
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News
AMB Generali scheme hit by 82% decline in new business
[16:55 CEST 08/06] GERMANY – A €345m multi-employer pension fund run by German insurer AMB Generali saw new business decline sharply in 2006 because of the loss of its privileged tax position above another form of pensions vehicle.
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News
BVI fails to get tax breaks for retirement funds
[16:29 CEST 05/06] GERMANY – Fund industry association BVI has failed in its efforts to persuade the government to introduce future tax breaks on investment funds designed for retirement saving.
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News
Basle’s embattled pension scheme set for 2008 bailout
[13:42 CEST 05/06] SWITZERLAND – Basle’s planned bailout of the CHF7.9bn (€4.8bn) pension scheme for its employees should go ahead from 2008 after the terms were sanctioned on Friday by a special committee.
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News
Dax firms see pension liabilities drop €10bn
[12:46 CEST 04/06] GERMANY – Pension liabilities for the 30 firms traded on Germany’s blue-chip Dax index have declined by €10bn since January, according to German pensions consultant Heissmann.
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Metzler sees AuM rise 50%
[16:31 CEST 31/05] GERMANY – Metzler, the German private bank, has reported a huge jump in assets under management (AuM) for 2006 due in large part to continued strong demand for German master funds.
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News
Novartis misses benchmark
SWITZERLAND – Novartis’ CHF14.3bn (€8.7bn) pension fund has reported a return of just 2% for 2006 – below both the 6.6% average for other Swiss schemes and its own 3% benchmark.
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German consultants deal could see investment arms merge
[17:05 CEST 29/05] GERMANY – Watson Wyatt’s planned acquisition of German pensions consultant Heissmann will not lead to any changes in top management at Heissmann, though the investment consulting arms of both firms will likely be merged, IPE has learned.
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News
Volkswagen Pension Trust weighs up alternatives
[17:03 CEST] GERMANY – Volkswagen Pension Trust (VPT), a €2.4bn external fund, is considering investing in alternatives over the next three years rather than increasing its exposure to equities, according to Kai Otto, one of VPT’s managers.
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News
DaimlerChrysler plans equities shift
[11:53 CEST] GERMANY – The €8.9bn DaimlerChrysler pension scheme is planning to invest €680m in German large cap equities this summer and has hired a consultant to select the appropriate manager.
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Swiss second pillar “should up saver rates”
SWITZERLAND – A commission advising the government on second-pillar pensions has recommended Swiss pension funds raise the minimum interest rate on member savings to 2.75% per annum from 2.5% now.
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French pension fund tax benefits at stake
FRANCE – Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate for the French presidency, is threatening – if elected to power – to remove tax benefits from pension funds which speculate in real estate rather than in companies perceived to be creating jobs.
