epn: European Pensions & Investment News articles from January 2007

epn: European Pensions & Investment News archives from January 2007

News: FRR may not retender for three large cap mandates.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands FRR, the 29.1bn French Pensions Reserve Fund, has hinted that it may not retender the eurozone and US large caps mandates it put out to market in 2004, which are up for review this year. The three 1bn passive...

News: Robeco eyes possible move into fiduciary management.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt The Dutch asset manager Robeco is on the look-out for a fiduciary manager as it contemplates moving into an increasingly crowded marketplace. George Moller, Robeco's chief executive, said: "People want fiduciary...

News: Italian TPR take-up falls way short of state expectations.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt Take-up for supplementary pensions in Italy following the introduction of new regulations has failed to meet the government's expectations. The Italian government changed regulations relating to severance pay...

News: Dexia joins the party with 130/30 launch.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Liam Kennedy Dexia Asset Management is looking to expand its quant asset management capabilities in the area of so-called 130/30 management. Naim Abou-Jaoude, member of Dexia Asset Management's executive committee and head of...

News: 125-strong team to tackle BoNYM merger.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands Bank of New York and Mellon have put together 14 teams of people, made up of a total of 125 internal staff across both companies, to indentify product overlaps and to highlight which product offerings are best suited...

News: News in Brief - Watson Wyatt acquires Dutch alliance partner.
January 15, 2007... Watson Wyatt Worldwide is to acquire its alliance partner in the Netherlands, Watson Wyatt Brans & Co. The deal will be finalised in the first quarter of 2007. "The decision represents a natural progression of our long alliance," said Jobert...

News: News in Brief - SSgA wins Danish Japan deal.
January 15, 2007... Denmark's Industriens Pension has awarded State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) a $65m (50.2m) Japan Small Cap Equities mandate. SSgA already manages some $400m for Industriens Pension. Jan-Ole Hansen, chief financial officer at the pension fund,...

News: News in Brief - UK governance falls short.
January 15, 2007... Many UK pension funds have governance arrangements that are not up to the task of managing the investment structures they employ, Watson Wyatt has found. The human resources consultancy's survey found this was the case with 50 per cent of UK...

News: News in Brief - Equities boost Portugese funds.
January 15, 2007... Portugese pension funds were buoyed over 2006 by the strong performance of equity markets across the globe. Portugese domestic equity markets also delivered good returns, partly pushed by cement producer Cimpor's acquisition in Turkey.

News: Russian pension prospects tempt foreign players.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Liam Kennedy Russia's growing non-state pension market is looking increasingly attractive for foreign asset management firms. Following Fortis' decision last autumn to enter the market through a joint venture, Pioneer...

News: Franck makes shift from JOP to investment director at PFA.
January 15, 2007... PFA, the 27.2bn Danish life insurance company, has poached Henrik Franck CIO of Juristernes og Okonomernes (JOP), the Danish pension fund for lawyers and economists, to become its investment director. Mr Franck replaces Hasse Jorgensen who...

News: People on the Move - Vandenbroucke secures due diligence post at Pioneer.
January 15, 2007... Pioneer Alternative Investments has hired a former senior manager from Axa to fill the role of global head of operational due diligence. Vincent Vandenbroucke, who was an operational risk analyst and member of the investment committee at Axa...

News: People on the Move - Dawson takes on Pimco's product development.
January 15, 2007... Pimco's new head of European product management is Craig Dawson, who will relocate to Munich from the specialist fixed-income manager's Newport Beach headquarters. His new role places him in charge of a product development team that aims to...

News: People on the Move - Ballard comes round to move from Arc to ABN Amro.
January 15, 2007... ABN Amro Asset Management has recruited Simon Ballard from Arc Securities to serve as a credit strategist at the fund manager. The move is designed to beef up the company's European fixed-income team, ABN Amro AM has said. Mr Ballard, who was...

News: People on the Move - State Street shows its plans for Europe with board appointments.
January 15, 2007... State Street has appointed three Europeans to its board of directors as part of chief executive Ronald Logue's plan to earn 50 per cent of turnover from outside the US. The three new board members are Peter Coym, who joins from Lehman Brothers...

News: People on the Move - Dexia reshuffle sees Lasat promoted to board chair.
January 15, 2007... Dexia is freshening up its organisational structure with a wide-ranging reshuffle and expansion of the group management board, which will now include the five heads of divisions in charge of Dexia's business lines. As part of this reshuffle,...

News: People on the Move - Giebken to push alternatives for Citigroup.
January 15, 2007... Citigroup has placed Mathias Giebken in charge of selling its alternative investments products to institutions in Germany and Austria. His task will be to sell Citigroup's full range of alternative investment products, concentrating on private...

News: European funds building on infrastructure commitments.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Kalpana Fitzpatrick Pension funds across the UK and Europe are pushing more of their assets into infrastructure, which is increasingly being recognised as an asset class in its own right. A large number of schemes have already...

News: Goldman Sachs wins Dutch printing fund mandate as part of equity outsourcing move.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt The Dutch printing sector pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds voor de Grafische Bedrijven has awarded a 240m mandate to the Goldman Sachs quantitative equities team. This marks a further milestone in PGB's...

News Analysis: Competition stirred by BoNYM merger.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands More than eight years after an unsolicited Bank of New York bid for Mellon was rebuffed in 1998, the two firms have finally come together into one entity called The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, or rather more...

Focus: 2006 Equity Market Review - Market wobbles fail to dent a bumper 2006.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Pirkko Juntunen Global equity markets continued their bull run in 2006 as investors were able to take advantage of a healthy global economy, robust growth in corporate earnings as well as a boom in mergers and acquisitions. During...

Comment: Leader - One value chain -different ways to cut it.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Liam Kennedy, editor-in-chief The award in December of a fiduciary 'insourcing' mandate by the Dutch printing industry pension fund to Altis Associates shows that Dutch funds are increasingly demanding distinct and different...

Comment: World View - Predictions and tribulations for 2007.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Klaudius Sobczyk Equity markets have once again proven to be capricious, and have escaped any notion of predictability. Last year was the third year in a row with double digit gains in developed and emerging equity markets. ...

Comment: Industry Voice - New products for a new demographic.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massimo Tosato Europe faces long-term demographic changes that pose the biggest challenge yet not only to pensions systems, but also to the fund management industry. Today, the European long-term saving market is worth an estimated...

Comment: Charities crying out for bleeding hearts.
January 15, 2007... Mephisto's already small and wooden heart took a battering this week when he found out that almost three-quarters of finance professionals are frustrated in their jobs. According to research published by trustee recruitment campaigners,...

Interview: Robeco - Cutting costs and driving acquisitions.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt Robeco was founded as an investment company for Rotterdam's wealthy in 1929, and quickly achieved great things. During World War II, the company managed to squirrel away more than half its portfolio in the US,...

Swiss Asset Allocation: Why it now pays to be prudent.
January 15, 2007... The matter in hand is very simple. A pension organisation has to select, control and monitor its investment assets carefully. At the same time, it has to provide a guarantee of security that its objectives will be achieved. Article 50 of the...

Fund Profile: AHV Equalisation Fund - Cash injection a welcome boost to counter disability payout.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Michael Lennert The AHV equalisation fund can count on an unexpected financial bonus this spring. The Swiss federal governmt will transfer Sfr7bn (4.3bn), which represents the final third of the proceeds from the sale of gold...

Pensions Snapshot: Belgium.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt Belgium's attempt to capture the market for pan-European pooled pensions finally acquired the force of law on 4 January. Philip Neyt, president of the Belgian Association of Pension Funds, is convinced that the...

News: ABP to take first swing at timberland investments.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Liam Kennedy ABP, the E209bn Dutch civil servants' and teachers' pension fund, is to make its first foray into timberland investments. Stefan Lundbergh, secretary of ABP Investments' innovation committee, said that the...

News: SEI launches long-short mutual funds.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt SEI has dipped its toe into the world of long-short mutual funds with the launch of two multi-manager long-short equity funds. Bart Heenk, managing director in charge of the Benelux countries at SEI Investments,...

News: News in Brief - FRR reports overall growth but bond portfolio losses over 2006.(Financial report)
January 29, 2007... The French pensions reserve fund FRR saw its assets grow by E4.5bn to E31.1bn over 2006, with total returns for the year of 11.1 per cent. The fund enjoyed strong performance from its equity portfolio, which returned 11 per cent, though the...

News: AMF makes Lindell head of corporate governance.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt Swedish life and pensions company AMF has appointed a new head of corporate governance. Peter Lindell, who arrives at AMF from the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, will be responsible...

People on the Move: Hassel joins Millennium's asset allocation team.
January 29, 2007... The specialist currency and alternatives manager Millennium Global Investments has recruited Arne Hassel to head up its global fund of hedge fund business and build up its global tactical asset allocation (GTAA) overlay strategy. Mr Hassel was...

People on the Move: Veysey is Scottish Widows' first head of bond product.
January 29, 2007... Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has created the new position of head of global bond product, to be filled by Craig Veysey. Working within the company's global bonds and economics team, Mr Veysey will run the Swip Global Bond Plus fund...

News: NAPF begins re-assessment of the Myners Principles.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands Not for the first time, Paul Myners' 10 principles of best practice, first published in 2001, are under review. But on this occasion it is not the government assessing the extent to which investors have incorporated...

News Analysis: ABP turns to long term and real returns.
January 29, 2007... ABP, the Dutch civil servants' and teachers' fund, has realised a return of 9.5 per cent over 2006, with an investment return of 3.9 per cent generated in the last quarter of 2006. This brings the pension fund's total assets to E209bn. ...

Comment: Good investing, great governance.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Paul Trickett Investment success and value creation are driven by the quality of the decision-making involved. Governance determines whether the deployment of the risk budget creates or destroys value, so there should be a stronger...

News: Institutional fund assets on the rise.
January 29, 2007... Global institutional pension fund assets have more than doubled over the past 10 years, Watson Wyatt has found. The consultant's regular Global Pension Assets Study found assets in the 11 major markets had grown at an annual compound rate...

News: Mixed reaction to Germany's proposed investment law.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt Germany's proposed new law on investment is attracting the ire of asset managers and trade associations, who say it would hinder the German funds industry in its competition with Luxembourg. Sven Zeller, a...

News: PGGM grows portfolio of strategies with new ideas.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Liam Kennedy The E81bn Dutch healthcare sector pension fund PGGM is in the process of implementing a systematic trading strategy to expand its portfolio of strategies investment class. It has also announced a E250 investment in...

News: Mn retains VCBV assets pending PME stake.
January 29, 2007... Mn Services will continue to manage the assets of Dutch automotive sector pension fund VCBV following its acquisition by the heavy engineering fund PME. The decision is a sign that PME expects a swift conclusion to its negotiations with...

News: News in Brief - Huffman replaces Sagraves at Northern Trust's London office.
January 29, 2007... Northern Trust Global Investments is losing Barry Sagraves, head of its London-based international business. The company has appointed William Huffman his successor as chief executive. Mr Huffman, who has worked in asset management for 15...

News: News in Brief - Aegon establishes joint venture to take a bite out of Transylvania.
January 29, 2007... Aegon is entering the Romanian pensions market, establishing a pension provider as a joint venture with Cluj-based high street bank Banca Transilvania. Both companies will have an equal share in the company, which will trade under both brand...

News: Aberdeen hire targets German interest in international securities.
January 29, 2007... Aberdeen Asset Management has chosen former consultant Hartmut Leser to head up its newly-established German institutional business. Mr Leser was previously managing partner at FERI Finance, a Frankfurt-based investment consultancy. At...

People on the Move: SPC appoints former diplomat as chairman.
January 29, 2007... Sir James Hodge has been appointed chairman of the Society of Pension Consultants, replacing Sir David Miers, who is stepping down after eight years. Sir James is a former diplomat who served as British ambassador to Thailand and Laos and as...

People on the Move: Actuary Hitchen to become NAPF chairman in May.
January 29, 2007... The UK's National Association of Pension Funds has appointed Chris Hitchen to succeed Robin Ellison as chairman when he steps down in May this year. Mr Hitchen, who has also served as chairman of the NAPF's investment council, is chief...

News: Figures reveal tough 12 months for leading Dutch pensions funds.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt After 2005's bumper returns, 2006 proved to be a tough year for some of the Netherlands' leading pension funds. Overall annual performance was almost cut in half compared with the same period last year, with the...

Comment: Leader - Raising the level of the debate.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Liam Kennedy, editor-in-chief The nineteenth century novel North and South by Mrs Gaskell charted the differences in social conditions between England's comfortable south and its industrial north. More recently, a shift in...

News: World View - The clock is always ticking.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Klaudius Sobczyk The equity market is full of mixed sentiments, ranging from muted hope to utter mistrust. Although strategists may be positive, there are an increasing number of voices cautioning against optimism. In...

News: What's wrong with kids these days?
January 29, 2007... Attracting the best and the most talented fund managers has always been a tricky operation for any investment house, but for Deutsche Bank and F&C the mantra appears to be: start early. Mephisto would never argue against thorough...

EPN Investment Outlook Survey: Survey indicates partial return of investor optimism.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands Equities, hedge funds, property and private equity are on the shopping list for European pension and insurance funds over the next six months, according to the results of epn's latest quarterly investor survey. ...

State Street Global Alliance: Diamonds in the rough.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Mariska van der Westen and Anke Claassen epn: By committing additional funds to Global Alliance, SSgA and ABP signal their intention to add asset managers to their joint portfolio. Does Global Alliance have a specific wishlist? Are...

Focus: The Netherlands - Fiduciary services seek definition.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt Is fiduciary management a highly customised service, or an off-the-peg product? This question lies at the heart of the debate in the Netherlands over the future of hundreds of smaller corporate pension funds thought...

Focus: The Netherlands - Diversity versus monoculture.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Mariska van der Westen It has been a while since the Dutch pension field boasted more than a thousand species of flowers. The number of pension funds has been cut back to around 800, and some are even whispering of an unstoppable...

Focus: The Netherlands - Looking for a durable alternative.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Mariska van der Westen It was only a few years ago that collective DC was the odd man out in the Dutch pension field. These days, many pension funds have switched to CDC, or are considering switching, with others supplementing a...

Fund Profile: Arcadis - Pioneers in bridging the gap between DB and CDC.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Mariska van der Westen When global environmental consultancy Arcadis decided to transform its pension scheme to collective defined contribution (CDC), a barely noticed landslide took place. "As far as I know, we were the first to...

Pensions Snapshot: Slovakia.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Thomas Escritt Slovakia's transition to a three-pillar pension system concluded in June this year, after an 18-month transition period. During that period, individuals could choose whether they wished to stay entirely within...