Comment
IPE’s columnists and guest writers dig into the hot topics for the pensions and investment industries with thoughtful commentary and reaction from around the world
Viewpoint: Let’s talk about responsible investment due diligence
Eilidh Wagstaff, senior specialist for multi-asset in the Principles for Responsible Investment’s (PRI) investor guidance team, takes stock of what’s working and what isn’t in responsible investment due diligence
From the editor
Is it time to add a new layer to strategic asset allocation?
For years, strategic asset allocation (SAA) has been a cornerstone of investment for pension funds and other institutional investors. Is sustainability a missing ingredient?
Viewpoint
Europe’s right wing can break pensions
Now that they hold power in several European countries, radical right-wing parties can make or break Europe’s pension systems.
Swiss pension funds reform second-pillar pensions from the bottom up
September’s referendum on the reform of second-pillar pensions demonstrates that comprehensive proposals engineered from the top down don’t always bring the expected results. The latest proposal was roundly defeated by two thirds of the electorate.
The size of Australia’s super funds could threaten the financial system
Australia’s central bank has warned that rapid growth of the nation’s superannuation system could “amplify” shocks to the country’s financial stability.
Endowment funds stick with alternatives despite headwinds
Disappointing returns in the last fiscal year may force US university endowments to rethink their investment strategies, but could this include moving away from the so-called Yale model that focuses on alternative investments?
The importance of board decisions in an uncertain world
In the foreword to this new book, the CIO of CERN Pension Fund, Dr Elena Manola-Bonthond, says that, in her experience, investment alpha is scarce and very often difficult to access. It can be costly and its persistence is sometimes questionable. But there are other types of alpha that are more accessible and governance alpha is definitely one of them.
Book review: The Financial Markets of Ancient Egypt – Risk and Return
“If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us. But passion and party blind our eyes.”
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Is it time to add a new layer to strategic asset allocation?
For years, strategic asset allocation (SAA) has been a cornerstone of investment for pension funds and other institutional investors. Is sustainability a missing ingredient?
Disagreements over pension reform persist in the Netherlands
When King Willem-Alexander read out his speech at the opening of the Dutch parliament, the topic of pensions was missing.
Investors must work together to improve AI stewardship
While perhaps the same cannot be said about climate change, there seems to be a consensus about artificial intelligence (AI) in the United Nations General Assembly.
The EU needs a few more AP7s
Europe sure does not have a savings problem – EU household savings amounted to €1.4trn in 2022 versus €840bn in the US. What Europe does have, though, is a glut of bank savings capital that serves as a double bind.
Europe’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is an opportunity, not a threat
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is often mentioned as one of the examples of the European Commission’s excessive zeal when working to implement the Green Deal. It is singled out as an example of overregulation that negatively impacts the competitiveness of European corporations, creates barriers to accessing the EU market and is costly to implement.
Australian regulators take a deep dive into growing private markets sector
The recent brisk battle to buy an Australian data centre platform, AirTrunk, pushed the price to more than A$24bn (€14.5bn) – double what was anticipated just a few months ago.
Social Security – the one thing Harris and Trump agree on
On one thing US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump agree: their new administration will not cut the Social Security benefits that are paid as pensions by the US Treasury’s retirement programme.
Danish politics focuses on the good life
Pensions and the labour market were the focus of end-of-summer political pronouncements in Denmark this year. If brought into action, some of the ideas could lead to forward-thinking changes to pensions.
German politicians pronounce on pensions policy ahead of next year's election
With federal elections likely to be held on 28 September next year, German politicians have started to reveal ideas on pensions.
Institutional investors shouldn't be so concerned about equity market concentration
Before the August 2024 equity sell-off, the rising level of concentration in global equity markets had many investors worried for some time, and concentration may well continue to be a feature of equity markets in the near future.
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