Latest from IPE Magazine – Page 49
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FeaturesFixed income, rates & currency: defying historical norms
Another US jobs report comes in significantly above consensus. Its across-the-board strength, upward revisions to previous reports, and an unemployment rate at the lowest level since 1963, may indicate that the economy is not quite as near recession as previously surmised. And with inflation still rising, albeit slightly less fast than expected, the outlook remains cloudy.
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FeaturesAhead of the curve: Are defensive strategies delivering?
Introducing ‘defensiveness’ to equity portfolios can take many forms. At the most explicit end of the spectrum, we can consider dialling down market exposure using derivative-based equity overlays – whether these are static protection programmes or more complex dynamically managed strategies which could even include some implicit volatility trading. At the more implicit end, promising reduced ‘downside capture’, we find a wide array of defensive long-only equity strategies.
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FeaturesQontigo Riskwatch - September 2022
*Data as of 29 July 2022. Forecast risk estimate for each index measured by the respective US, World and Emerging Markets Qontigo model variants
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Features
IPE Quest Expectations Indicator - September 2022
The war in Ukraine is characterised by a build-up for the battle for Kherson. The result of that campaign is likely to have great political influence on both sides. Neither is capable of a surprise win, but time works against Russia. In the US, Trump’s legal troubles are serious and mounting, but any Republican successor may be even more destructive. The EU is running against time to prepare for winter. Both optimists and pessimists are over-estimating the ability of technicians to predict the future. Russia has lost the EU as a primary customer for its oil and gas. It must make up for higher distribution costs by offering significant discounts.
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InterviewsStrategically speaking interview: Italian, global and poised for growth
In asset management, three years can be a short or a long time, depending on many factors, including market conditions. To some asset management executives, the second half of the 2010s perhaps felt like an endless slog, due to the intense competition for market share and outperformance within the seemingly never-ending bull market. The first two years of the new decade have certainly elapsed more quickly, thanks to the historical significance of the events that have occurred.
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Special Report
Ireland: IORP implementation prompts consolidation
Ireland’s pensions trade body warns that many smaller schemes will be unable to meet the requirements of IORP II, accelerating the move to master trusts
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Special Report
Italy: Debate on reform continues ahead of snap election
Plans announced to lower the retirement age and raise public benefits, but there has been little discussion of a greater role for second-pillar pensions
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Special ReportNetherlands: Rising funding ratios with a bitter side taste
Dutch funding ratios have continued to rise, but are being overshadowed by inflation concerns and enormous investment losses
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Special ReportNorway: Steps towards a new pension settlement
Increasing the retirement age will help put Norway’s pension system on a more sustainable footing, but improving benefits will mean extra costs
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Special ReportPortugal: Sustainability efforts need to be redoubled
Portugal recognises that past pension reforms mitigated the fiscal effects of an ageing population, but more effort is needed over the coming years
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Special ReportSpain: Second-pillar reforms broaden coverage
Amendments to existing laws and new ones extend access to second-pillar occupational pension funds to more workers
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Special ReportSweden: Premium pension revamp takes shape
Following the appointment of a board, the new Fund Selection Agency is filling senior management slots and the AP7 default fund is undergoing a strategy revamp
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Special ReportSwitzerland: First-pillar reforms put to the public
A referendum this autumn will decide the fate of reform to the first pillar, and parliament will debate the reform of the second pillar
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Special ReportUK: Going green amid a regulatory overhaul
The industry is concerned about a focus on derisking as the regulator’s new funding code takes shape this autumn
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Country ReportCountry Report – Pensions in Italy (July/August 2022)
Italy’s pension industry continues to develop, albeit at a slow pace. Italian pension funds are adapting their strategies to the volatile and uncertain market regime, by purchasing inflation-linked assets and by taking advantage of potentially higher yields on domestic government bonds. However, as our lead article highlights, they are generally staying true to their long-term diversification strategies, which consist of gradually allocating to alternatives including private equity, private debt and infrastructure. Some have bought shares in the Bank of Italy, a private equity-like investment.
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Country ReportItaly: Pension funds adapt to a new regime
Inflation, higher interest rates and geopolitical tensions are leading Italian pension funds to recalibrate their investment strategies
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Country ReportItaly: The greening of the pension industry
Italian pension funds are developing their approaches to sustainable investing, with increasing focus on impact and engagement
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Country ReportItaly: Struggles of the pension sector
Italian industry-wide pension funds fail to attract new members, with potentially serious long-term consequences
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Opinion PiecesThe cost of high fees
Asset owners’ never-ending quest for better management fees is now at its peak.
