All articles by Leen Preesman – Page 95
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News
Levensloop deposits fall 7% (updated)
[16:00 CEST 19-08] NETHERLANDS - Dutch workers paid 7% less into their tax-friendly ‘levensloop’ or life course saving plans in 2008, latest figures reveal.
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Interest hedge limits Stork scheme loss
NETHERLANDS – The €2.1bn pension fund of the industrial conglomerate Stork managed to limit its losses to 13% in 2008, largely thanks to a strategic 70% interest rate hedge on its liabilities.
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ING in insurance rethink
EUROPE - ING is to integrate its Dutch insurance activities under the Nationale Nederlanden brand, and will create a single insurance operation in the rest of Europe, including Central Europe.
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Arcadis signs Delta Lloyd in asset strategy rethink
[16:30 CEST 11-08] NETHERLANDS - Arcadis, the €617m pension fund for civil engineers, has appointed Delta Lloyd as manager of its €97m portfolio of government bonds, as part of a larger revamp to its asset allocation strategy.
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Océ scheme prepares for benefit cuts
[17:15 CEST 10-08] NETHERLANDS - The hard-hit pension fund of photocopier manufacturer Océ has announced it will start cutting pension rights and benefits next year if the economic situation has not sufficiently improved.
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Physios scheme scales down unconditional indexation
[16:45 CEST 07-08] NETHERLANDS - The €1.6bn pension fund for physiotherapists (SPF) has decided to lower its 2.5% fixed indexation payment, as the scheme had a cover ratio of 94% by the end of last year and a return of –14%.
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Dutch premiums may need to rise by a third – study
[16:30 CEST 07-08] NETHERLANDS – Current pension contribution levels may have to rise by an average of one-third by 2014, if pension funds are to recover their funding ratio to the required minimum of 105%, suggests research.
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Dutch employers warn pensions must be cut
[15:30 CEST 05-08] NETHERLANDS - Dutch employers have called on pension arrangements to be cut, as the rapidly rising costs are said to be damaging the competitiveness of Dutch companies.
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NewsPension fund recoveries could hurt Dutch GDP - DNB
[15:45 CEST 04-08] NETHERLANDS - Pensions regulator De Nederlandsche Bank has claimed the mandatory recovery arrangements of Dutch pension funds may reduce GDP by 0.15% a year or 0.75% by 2013.
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NewsPGGM mulls a cull of individual equities
NETHERLANDS - Asset manager PGGM Investments is thinking of drastically reducing the number of individual equity investments it holds, in order to simplify its investment policy and build an improved ESG focus on the companies it its portfolio.
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Pension funds rally against need to report cooperation
NETHERLANDS – Representatives of the Dutch pension funds arena have lodged an appeal with the competition regulator NMa against a duty to report any cooperation of activity between pension funds.
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News
Hedge limits Dutch retail funds loss
[17:10 CEST 27-07] NETHERLANDS - The €6.9bn pension fund for the retail sector (BD) says it limited its loss to -1.1% in 2008, thanks to an interest rate hedge on two-thirds of its liabilities.
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News
Shell scheme saw assets dive by 43%
[14:00 CEST 24-07] NETHERLANDS - The Dutch pension fund of energy giant Shell saw its assets drop by over 43% to €10.6bn last year, and its cover ratio plummeted from 180% to 80%.
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SPMS saw cover ratio drop by a third
[16:30 CEST 23-07] NETHERLANDS - The €4.2bn pension fund for medical consultants SPMS returned –16.2% on investments in 2008 and saw its cover ratio drop from 146% to 98%.
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Flight staff scheme is best performer at KLM
[16:30 CEST 22-07] NETHERLANDS - A €5bn pension scheme for KLM flight staff suffered an investment loss of 9.2% last year, yet this is hailed as being the best performing pension fund of the airline’s three large schemes in 2008.
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News
Pharmacists to sue State Street for Lehman losses
[16:15 CEST 22-07] NETHERLANDS – Two Dutch pension funds - the €203m pension fund OPG, for medicines wholesale group Mediq, and PMA, the fund for pharmacists - have begun legal proceedings against State Street for losses incurred in the Lehman Brothers collapse.
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News
Interest and currency hedges help TNO limit losses
[16:40 CEST 20-07] NETHERLANDS - The €1.9bn pension fund of the institute for applied scientific research TNO managed to limit its loss to - 7.1% thanks to major hedging of both its interest and currency risks.
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News
SFP picks ING as its asset manager
[15:00 CEST 17-07] NETHERLANDS - The €370m pension fund for privatised government organisations (SFP) has chosen ING Group as its new asset manager.
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News
ABP appoints Ed Nijpels as chairman
[13:15 CEST 17-07] NETHERLANDS - Ed Nijpels will become the new chairman of ABP, the €180bn pension fund for civil servants and teachers, from 1 August.
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News
Dutch notaries and pharmacists face pension cuts
[13:00 CEST 16-07] NETHERLANDS - Approximately 5,000 participants of the pension fund for notaries could face an 8.4% cut in pension benefits and claims by 2012, while members of the SPOA scheme could see reduced pensions too.
