Markets – Page 160

  • News

    BT downgrade over pension raises investor concerns

    2010-02-19T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CET 19-02] UK – A fund manager has warned investors may need to tread carefully in the future if they invest in companies with similar pension fund deficit problems, as ratings agency S&P has downgraded BT Group’s credit rating amind concerns about its pensions deficit.

  • News

    Fund managers waver over 2010 growth

    2010-02-16T15:50:00Z

    [16:50 CET 16-02] GLOBAL - Fund managers are expecting only modest economic growth this year according to two new surveys published today, one of which suggests there has been a fresh loss of confidence in the European investment market.

  • News

    Dividend-seeking investors warned against reliance on energy

    2010-02-08T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CET 08-2] UK – Dividends paid by BP and Royal Dutch Shell amounted to a quarter of the dividends paid by UK listed companies last year. Yet experts have warned the true picture may not be as good this year as growth is expected to “stagnate” or even fall ...

  • News

    Dutch cover ratios hit by falling bond rates

    2010-02-04T13:00:00Z

    [14:00 CET 04-02] NETHERLANDS - The cover ratio of the average Dutch pension fund decreased by two percentage points to 109% in January, according to data produced by Hewitt Associates.

  • News

    Market timing pays off for Finnish pensions

    2010-02-02T15:55:00Z

    [16:55 CET 02-02] FINLAND – Kuntien Eläkevakuutus (Keva), the Local Government Pensions Institution, has reported a 2009 return of 18.9% after taking advantage of upswings in the markets, while Valtion Eläkerahasto (VER), the State Pension Fund, has also produced a positive result.

  • News

    Global pension assets reach 70% of GDP

    2010-02-01T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CET 01-02] GLOBAL - Pension fund assets amounted to 70% of the average global GDP last year, up from 58% in 2008, research from Towers Watson suggests.

  • News

    Merseyside increases focus on ESG for emerging markets

    2010-01-29T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CET 29-01] UK – Merseyside pension fund is re-tendering £500m (€576m) of Far East and emerging market equity mandates, but has indicated its preference for managers with a clear socially-responsible investment (SRI) focus.

  • News

    UK roundup: NILGOSC and Pitman Trustees

    2010-01-21T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 21-01] UK – The Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC) is seeking a global equity manager, while Pitmans Trustees has acquired the business of SBJ Professional Trustees.

  • News

    UN under attack over pension fund strategy

    2010-01-21T14:35:00Z

    [15:35 CET 21-01] GLOBAL - The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Scheme has come under fire from a UN-related organisation for “under-investing” in developing countries while over-relying on external fund management.

  • Norway-Global gives up tobacco
    News

    Norway-Global gives up tobacco

    2010-01-20T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CET 20-01] NORWAY – The Ministry of Finance has excluded 17 tobacco-producing companies from the investment universe of the Government Pension Fund – Global, and there is the possibility that still more could be removed.

  • News

    Avon PF eyes global and emerging markets equities

    2010-01-19T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CET 19-01] UK - The £1.8bn (€2bn) Avon pension fund is searching for a global unconstrained equities manager to take care of 10% of the scheme’s total portfolio.

  • News

    Towers Watson eyes alternative emerging markets beta

    2010-01-15T14:15:00Z

    [15:15 CET 15-01] GLOBAL - IPE has learned that pensions consultant Towers Watson is discussing the creation of GDP-weighted investable indices with product providers, to improve the efficiency of its clients’ emerging market equity exposure.

  • News

    Nominal GDP swaps 'could be key to DC guarantee'

    2010-01-14T15:20:00Z

    [16:20 CET 14-01] EUROPE – Officials at the Bank of Italy have been working on a proposal to create a public swap-based return guarantee for members of defined contribution funds.

  • News

    Pension funds tap growing prospects for emerging markets

    2010-01-13T11:30:00Z

    [12:30 CET 13-01] IPE-QUEST – Two European pension funds are pursuing the predicted surge of interest in emerging markets equity investments and have launched searches for suitable EM managers, using IPE-Quest.

  • News

    NBIM begins search for environmental managers

    2010-01-08T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 08-01] NORWAY – Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) is seeking managers to run a series of mandates aimed at the environmental and sustainable resource sectors.

  • News

    BlackRock predicts low inflation to stay in 2010

    2010-01-07T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CET 07-01] GLOBAL - Inflation is likely to remain low in 2010 and the US equity market will outperform other developed markets, according to BlackRock’s Bob Doll.

  • News

    Pension funds embark on Quest to invest

    2010-01-06T15:55:00Z

    [16:55 CET 06-01] IPE-QUEST – Two consultancy firms are seeking equity and bond managers on behalf of their clients, one of which is confirmed as being a Danish pension fund.

  • News

    UK roundup: PPF targets secondary private equity

    2010-01-05T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CET 05-01] UK - The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is seeking investment managers to take advantage of opportunities in the secondary private equity market. It is also re-tendering its global custody contract while the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is seeking a multi-asset passive investment manager.

  • News

    Equities recover but still deliver ‘worst decade’ performance

    2010-01-04T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CET 04-01] GLOBAL – MSCI Barra, the provider of equity market benchmark data, said strong performance of major regional equity indices indicated a recovery in stock markets last year. Yet rival provider S&P Indices said equities also delivered the worst 10-year performance ever recorded during the Noughties.

  • News

    FRR fires Dexia for poor performance

    2010-01-04T15:20:00Z

    FRANCE – Fonds de Reserve pour Retraites (FRR) has dropped Dexia Asset Management as one of its European equity managers on the back of poor investment performance.