Markets – Page 164

  • News

    Devon outsources assets to four new managers

    2009-07-31T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 31-07] UK – Devon County Council has appointed four new investment managers to its £1.87bn (€2.19bn) pension fund following a decision last year to outsource a large proportion of its in-house managed assets.

  • Dutch pension fund to invest in US debt
    News

    Dutch pension fund to invest in US debt

    2009-07-30T15:25:00Z

    [16:25 CEST 30-07] IPE QUEST – A Dutch pension fund is looking to invest $150m (€106m) in US investment grade debt, using IPE-Quest.

  • PGGM mulls a cull of individual equities
    News

    PGGM mulls a cull of individual equities

    2009-07-29T16:00:00Z

    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.

  • News

    Linz AG fund reviews value-at-risk approach

    2009-07-28T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CEST 28-07] AUSTRIA – The €180m pension fund for the Austrian energy and telecommunication company Linz AG is hoping investment markets will stabilise soon so it can change its asset allocation approach.

  • News

    Swiss pensions shift to equities and property

    2009-07-27T12:30:00Z

    [13:30 CEST 27-07] SWITZERLAND – Swiss pensionskassen made a definite shift back into equities in the second quarter of this year alongside a record level of real estate investments, new figures suggest.

  • News

    Mutual funds to see surge in German institutional interest

    2009-07-24T14:00:00Z

    [15:00 CEST 24-07] GERMANY – Interest in mutual funds (publikumsfonds) is "high" and "set to grow" among German institutional investors, according to a poll of fund managers and investors.

  • News

    Thurgau puts faith in ALM study

    2009-07-22T14:15:00Z

    [15:15 CEST 22-07] SWITZERLAND – The pensionskasse for the northern Swiss canton of Thurgau (PKTG) has hired Swiss consultancy Complementa to conduct an ALM study, after returning -18.9% last year.

  • News

    Union finds corporate bond Spezialfonds in demand

    2009-07-21T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CEST 21-07] GERMANY – Frankfurt-based Union Investment saw net inflows of €3.8bn in the first half of 2009.

  • News

    Liechtenstein Sozialfonds to enhance risk taking

    2009-07-21T13:20:00Z

    [14:20 CEST 21-07] LIECHTENSTEIN – The largest pensionskasse in the small principality of Liechtenstein, the ‘Sozialfonds’, says it is strong enough to take on longevity and other demographic risks itself.

  • News

    Slovak funds down amid 'dramatic changes'

    2009-07-17T14:15:00Z

    SLOVAKIA – The six funds in the Slovak mandatory second pillar posted negative returns for the second quarter of this year, halving the six-months’ performance just as a new bill introduced structural changes.

  • News

    Unusual market conditions sparked RSA longevity deal

    2009-07-16T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CEST 16-07] UK – The defined benefit pension schemes of Royal & Sun Alliance would likely have been unable to protect their pensioner liabilities with a gilt swap and longevity insurance deal completed earlier this week if market conditions had not thrown the fixed income market into array, suggest ...

  • News

    Austrian pensionskassen back on positive ground

    2009-07-13T15:35:00Z

    [16:35 CEST 13-07] AUSTRIA – The second quarter brought a major shift into positive territory for Austrian pensionskassen with a return of 3.74%.

  • British Steel's internal team seeks Asia Pacific equity expert
    News

    British Steel's internal team seeks Asia Pacific equity expert

    2009-07-10T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CEST 10-07] UK – The £9.8bn (€11.4bn) British Steel Pension Fund is looking to strengthen its internal investment team with the appointment of an Asia Pacific equity manager.

  • Cardiff seeks emerging markets manager
    News

    Cardiff seeks emerging markets manager

    2009-07-07T16:20:00Z

    [17:20 CEST 08-07] UK - Cardiff County Council is seeking an emerging markets equity manager to run a specialist portfolio for the Cardiff & Vale of Glamorgan Pension fund.

  • News

    Germany’s largest pensionskasse returns 4.5%

    2009-06-29T15:35:00Z

    [16:35 CEST 29-06] GERMANY – The €20.1bn BVV Pensionskasse for banks will grant its members 4.5% interest for 2008 as it achieved a positive portfolio return last year.

  • News

    Investment tide turning towards Japan?

    2009-06-26T12:30:00Z

    [13:30 CEST 26-06] GLOBAL - Fund managers and investors are turning their attention to the Japanese equity market again as some officials claim the economic downturn means larger Japanese firms may be better equipped to meet the pressures than in other countries.

  • News

    Islington awards UK bonds mandate

    2009-06-24T15:50:00Z

    [16:50 CEST 24-06] UK – Islington Council has appointed Standard Life Investments to run a UK active bond mandate worth up to £150m (€175m) to its local government pension fund.

  • News

    European investors display manager search activity

    2009-06-23T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CEST 23-06] EUROPE – Three institutional investors, including two continental European pension funds, are looking to hire asset managers for specialist equity mandates, using IPE Quest.

  • News

    Balanced pension funds pull back short-term gains

    2009-06-23T15:25:00Z

    [16:25 CEST 23-06] UK – There is now evidence of improvement to three-year equity returns to pension fund assets, as the latest BNY Mellon CAPS pooled pension fund figures show, in the main, assets have continued to recover.

  • News

    Economist warns pensions should not contain equities

    2009-06-22T13:00:00Z

    [14:00 CEST 22-06] AUSTRIA – Investing in equities is unsuitable for pension fund investment, according to Helmut Kramer, the former head of Austria’s economic research centre Wifo.