Markets – Page 160
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BT downgrade over pension raises investor concerns
[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.
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Fund managers waver over 2010 growth
[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.
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Dividend-seeking investors warned against reliance on energy
[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 ...
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Dutch cover ratios hit by falling bond rates
[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.
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Market timing pays off for Finnish pensions
[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.
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Global pension assets reach 70% of GDP
[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.
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Merseyside increases focus on ESG for emerging markets
[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.
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UK roundup: NILGOSC and Pitman Trustees
[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.
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UN under attack over pension fund strategy
[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.
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Norway-Global gives up tobacco
[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.
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Avon PF eyes global and emerging markets equities
[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.
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Towers Watson eyes alternative emerging markets beta
[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.
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Nominal GDP swaps 'could be key to DC guarantee'
[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.
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Pension funds tap growing prospects for emerging markets
[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.
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NBIM begins search for environmental managers
[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.
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BlackRock predicts low inflation to stay in 2010
[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.
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Pension funds embark on Quest to invest
[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.
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UK roundup: PPF targets secondary private equity
[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.
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Equities recover but still deliver ‘worst decade’ performance
[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.
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FRR fires Dexia for poor performance
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.