All articles by Nyree Stewart – Page 4

  • News

    Lack of expertise deters investment in infrastructure

    2010-06-02T15:00:00Z

    GLOBAL – Low investor expertise is one of the biggest barriers to increasing institutional investment in infrastructure, highlighting the need for a credible investor body for the industry, Bfinance clams.

  • News

    NAPF uncovers greater emphasis on shareholder engagement

    2010-06-01T15:40:00Z

    UK – The majority of pension funds in the UK now factor in attitudes to shareholder engagement when selecting investment managers, according to a new survey.

  • News

    AIFM rules needed to protect investors from themselves

    2010-06-01T15:30:00Z

    EUROPE – The EU's Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive should be welcomed as a way to protect investors from exposing themselves to unnecessary risks in the pursuit of higher hedge fund returns, according to an academic study.

  • News

    UK roundup: PIRC, Hammersmith, BAE, Tate & Lyle

    2010-06-01T14:45:00Z

    UK – Revisions to the UK Corporate Governance Code requiring the annual re-election of directors of FTSE 350 companies has been welcomed by an independent corporate governance adviser, despite concerns from pension funds.

  • News

    RBC Dexia completes Italian custody acquisition

    2010-06-01T14:00:00Z

    ITALY – RBC Dexia Investor Services has consolidated its position in the Italian custody and administration market with the completion of its acquisition of UBI Group's depositary bank business.

  • Features

    Solvency fears persist

    June 2010 (Magazine)

    The European Union’s decision to establish a special purpose vehicle with funds of up to €500bn to provide loans to euro-zone countries caused an initial rise in equity markets. But while it addressed liquidity problems, there remain concerns about solvency issues.

  • News

    UNJSPF assets reach €31bn in Q1

    2010-05-28T15:52:00Z

    GLOBAL – The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) has seen its asset value increase by 2.2% to $38.35bn (€30.9bn) in the first quarter of the year.

  • News

    Pension funds concerned over FRC call for annual re-elections

    2010-05-28T15:50:00Z

    UK – Pension funds and asset managers have expressed concerns over the introduction of annual re-elections of directors of FTSE 350 companies as part of the revised UK Corporate Governance Code.

  • Icelandic pensions initiate review to halt critics
    News

    Icelandic pensions initiate review to halt critics

    2010-05-27T16:15:00Z

    ICELAND – The Icelandic Pension Funds Association (IPFA) has agreed to arrange an independent investigation into the working methods and investment policies of pension schemes in the period before the economic collapse following public criticism of their actions.

  • News

    Cable takes charge of abolition of UK default retirement age

    2010-05-27T15:55:00Z

    UK – Detailed plans for phasing out of the default retirement age will be the responsibility of Vince Cable and the department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and not the department of work and pensions (DWP) according to Iain Duncan Smith.

  • Cost of de-risking remains a barrier for UK trustees
    News

    Cost of de-risking remains a barrier for UK trustees

    2010-05-27T15:49:00Z

    UK – Trustees see cost issues as the biggest barrier to reducing risk in a pension scheme, leading a significant number to make deficit funding programmes a priority, a study has revealed.

  • News

    Norway transport firm seeks administrator for public pension

    2010-05-27T15:44:00Z

    NORWAY – Kollektivtransportproduksjon AS (KTP), the Norwegian public transport provider, is seeking a supplier of administrative and operations services for its public occupational pension scheme.

  • News

    UK roundup: UK target date funds, Energizer, De La Rue, Teeside

    2010-05-27T15:35:00Z

    UK – HSBC has reported its series of target-date retirement funds have locked in gains of more than 30% in their first year, while the Energizer Trust has appointed a provider for a range of pension services to its pension scheme.

  • UK government to tackle Royal Mail pensions deficit
    News

    UK government to tackle Royal Mail pensions deficit

    2010-05-26T15:58:00Z

    UK – The Royal Mail defined benefit (DB) pension deficit is one of the areas that will be tackled by the Conservative-Liberal coalition government in a new Postal Services Bill announced in the Queen's Speech.

  • Queen's Speech: UK to review State Pension Age
    News

    Queen's Speech: UK to review State Pension Age

    2010-05-25T15:47:00Z

    UK – The Queen today confirmed that the new coalition government in the UK would set a timetable for reviewing the State Pension Age.

  • News

    Stewardship Code is 'last chance' says TUC

    2010-05-25T15:41:00Z

    UK – The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has warned the proposed Stewardship Code for institutional investors "provides a last chance" to develop a corporate governance system that relies less on regulation to discipline companies and more on shareholder engagement and monitoring.

  • Inflation fears sustain large FTSE350 deficits
    News

    Inflation fears sustain large FTSE350 deficits

    2010-05-25T15:05:00Z

    UK – Growing long-term inflation expectations have offset the effects of equity market gains, causing the aggregated pension deficit of FTSE350 companies to be valued at £160bn (€187bn) at the end of March 2010.

  • United Utilities slashes deficit with DB changes
    News

    United Utilities slashes deficit with DB changes

    2010-05-24T15:40:00Z

    UK – United Utilities claims it reduced its pension deficit by approximately £90m (€104m) through a number of changes to its defined benefit (DB) schemes.

  • Pension schemes optimistic on economy despite Greek crisis
    News

    Pension schemes optimistic on economy despite Greek crisis

    2010-05-24T15:30:00Z

    GLOBAL – Pension funds are increasingly optimistic about the strength of the global economy, despite concerns over the financial situation in Greece, according to a quarterly survey in association with IPE.

  • DWP to face a £535m spending cut ahead of new Pensions Bill
    News

    DWP to face a £535m spending cut ahead of new Pensions Bill

    2010-05-24T15:00:00Z

    UK – The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will be expected to make savings of more than half a billion pounds this financial year, according to HM Treasury.