Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 277
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Features
Back to basics
The Herculean task of harmonising the funding rules for Europe’s defined benefit pension schemes has been officially decoupled from the planned IORP II Directive, to the relief of all those who would have to deal with the complex analytical framework needed to coordinate the rules. That framework would almost certainly have led to lower risk tolerance and a mass exodus from risk assets on the part of European pension funds.
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Features
Farmland, infrastructure and ESG
At this year’s National Association of Pension Funds Investment Conference, delegates gathered in Edinburgh looking to bridge ideas and investment strategies for the future. Sessions on smart beta, liability-driven investing (LDI) and multi-asset solutions were popular.
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Features
Minister courts schemes on PIP
Danny Alexander, a senior Treasury minister in the UK government, has called on pension funds to invest more in infrastructure.
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Features
IORP II: Stand by for a saga
Pity the poor European Commission when it announces its long-awaited plans for a complete upgrade of EU rules governing occupational pensions.
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Features
A few reactions…
The leaked draft of the IORP II Directive has generally received positive reactions from experts in the European pensions industry.
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Opinion Pieces
ESG lacks something
No, I haven’t had a damascene conversion to become an ESG critic. Rather, my argument is that the ESG (environment, social and governance) community needs to add another ‘E’, for economics.
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Opinion Pieces
Towards a 29th regime
A single-market regime for third-pillar pensions has moved closer with a paper entitled Towards an EU-Single Market for Personal Pensions from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).
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Features
A model but no debate
One of the most outspoken critics of pensions accounting and the IASB is Tim Bush. Since 2011, Bush, a former ICAEW Council member, and self-confessed MBA-group-think-phobe, has taken the lead on governance and financial analysis at PIRC. His assessment of accountancy’s shortcomings is disarmingly blunt – not only have accountants lost the big picture, they have the detail wrong.
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Opinion Pieces
Retirement saving boost
Who will manage the new My Retirement Account (MyRA) retirement savings vehicle? This is a big question for the US pension fund industry now that President Barack Obama has created the new programme.
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Opinion Pieces
Thomas Richter CEO BVI, Germany’s asset management association
“Auto enrolment would make sense in Germany and could develop through collective bargaining”
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Features
Can small still be beautiful?
Despite the well-documented benefits of consolidation, there are still thousands of pension funds with assets under €1bn. Given that most of them cannot gain scale efficiencies, what can they do to make the best of their situation?
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Features
Sailing towards sustainability
Antony Barker, of the UK Santander Group Pension Scheme, tells Jonathan Williams how his fund is on a path towards sustainability, and how property and consumer disposable income play a key role in the new asset allocation
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Country Report
Austria: Keeping it complicated
Austrian Pensionskassen portfolios are highly diverse, which not only makes it difficult to speak of ‘average performance’, but also complicates administration and liability management, writes Barbara Ottawa
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Country Report
Germany: Few heads above the parapet
While UK funds were involved in the shareholder spring, North American investors write open letters to company boards and Dutch and Norwegian pension investors blacklist firms. Germany’s occupational sector is less keen to be seen challenging businesses, finds Jonathan Williams
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Country Report
Germany: The wise man of corporate governance
Germany is awakening to the need for better corporate governance. This is the view of Christian Strenger, a former chairman of the International Corporate Governance Network, who has formidable board-level experience gained over many decades in banking and asset management.
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Country Report
Germany: Funds want it their way
German Versorgungswerke have a lot of money they need to invest long-term but they are happier without European regulation, writes Barbara Ottawa
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Country Report
Germany: Long-term horizons and pensions
Cornelia Schmid and Verena Menne outline practical measures that would allow German occupational pension funds to invest more in long-term assets
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Country Report
Germany: Yielding low results
German Pensionskassen are faced with an unenviable situation – restrictive investment guidelines and a target return that can no longer be met through core bond holdings. Jonathan Williams explores where the funds can go in search for yield
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Country Report
Germany: Tests of an ageing workforce
German pension benefits need to change to reflect the greying workforce, argue Thomas Jasper and Stephan Wildner. Companies whose workforces appreciate what is on offer will be better placed to attract and retain talent
