epn: European Pensions & Investment News articles from July 2005

epn: European Pensions & Investment News archives from July 2005

News: First Dutch fund plans to tap subordinated loan market.
July 4, 2005... ING Investment Management has agreed terms with an unnamed Dutch pension fund to boost its coverage ratio using the subordinated loan market. The move will resolve the scheme's unfunded pension liability problems, claimed Gerard Bergsma, a...

News: Norwegian-based multinationals eye domicile shift to EU jurisdictions.
July 4, 2005... Several Norwegian-based multinationals are planning to shift the regulatory domicile of their pension funds to EU countries, epn has learnt. Per Simonsen, senior supervisory advisor from Kredittilsynet, the Norwegian Financial Supervisory...

News: German DAX 30 companies increase pension funding levels, claims consultant Rauser AG.
July 4, 2005... German corporates with a Dax 30 index listing upped their pension funding levels by an estimated E10-15bn in 2004, according to a study carried out by consultants Rauser AG. The development was driven by international accounting standards -...

News: BVK makes the leap into commodities.
July 4, 2005... The SFr19.2bn (E12.37bn) Canton of Zurich pension fund (BVK) is preparing to make an initial investment to commodities as part of an asset diversification programme. The fund intends to allocate up to E494m by the end of the decade. BVK...

News: Custodians plan European expansion.
July 4, 2005... Northern Trust is to establish an office in the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2006 to service Dutch custody clients. Kas Bank, the Dutch custody provider with E260bn under custody, is also planning to extend its reach and is...

News: Bidding a good knight to 'Sir' Jean Frijns.
July 4, 2005... The Dutch pension world bade farewell to ABP's chief investment officer and CEO of ABP investments on 16 June. Some 260 guests assembled at Amsterdam's former stock exchange building to attend a reception and symposium to mark Prof. Jean...

News in Brief - PSV to move to full capital funding.
July 4, 2005... The German pension guarantor, the PSV, plans to move to full capital funding by 2006, according to Martin Hoppenrath, a director of the Cologne-based operation. It currently pays the pension obligations of bankrupt companies through a hybrid of...

News in Brief - Vanguard launches inflation-linked bond index fund.
July 4, 2005... Vanguard Investment Europe has launched an LDI fund. Its Euro Inflation- linked Bond Index Fund seeks to provide long-term investors with protection from the principal eroding risk of euro-zone inflation, and the diversification benefit derived...

News in Brief - Fortis starts Frankfurt office.
July 4, 2005... Fortis has opened an office in Frankfurt to offer administration, custody and financing to alternative and traditional asset managers. "The opening is a direct consequence of the change in regulations towards investing in hedge funds in...

News in Brief - FSA opens hedge fund debate.
July 4, 2005... The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has called for a wider debate on hedge funds by publishing two papers on the effect of hedge funds on the UK's wholesale markets and the regulatory regime on retail investment products. The FSA is...

News: New regulations prompt Nordic hedge fund index.
July 4, 2005... Hedgenordic has launched the first hedge fund index in the Nordic region. The online service monitors the hedge fund industries in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. It also provides a database of all Nordic hedge funds and statistics on...

News: FI re-thinks risk in new traffic light draft.
July 4, 2005... Sweden's Financial supervisory authority (FI) has published a revised draft version of its proposed traffic light system. The new supervisory tool is intended to help FI to identify life insurance companies and pension funds that have...

News: People on the move.
July 4, 2005... BISCHEL TAKES ON EFAMA PRESIDENCY Efama, the representative association for the European investment management industry, has appointed Stefan Bichsel as its new president for a two-year term. Mr Bichsel is a member of the management board...

News: Mercer seeks pensions directive clarification from UK department of work and pensions.
July 4, 2005... Mercer Investment Consulting has sought clarification from the UK department of work and pensions (DWP) in connection with the implementation of the pan- European pensions directive and its impact on UK pension fund regulations. Carl...

News: Nordea expands in Polish pensions market.
July 4, 2005... Nordea, the Nordic financial services group, has concluded a deal to acquire Sampo's Polish subsidiaries in the pensions and life insurance sectors. It was agreed that Nordea will acquire an additional 556,000 pension scheme participants...

News: Funding situation of Swiss schemes fails to improve despite period of solid investment returns in 2004, finds Swisscanto annual study.
July 4, 2005... A good year of investment returns has failed to improve significantly the funding situation of Switzerland's pension fund, according to the annual study carried out by investment management company Swisscanto. The introduction from next...

News Analysis: PPF plays safe with cash and bonds.
July 4, 2005... The UK's Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has announced a set of cautious investment principles, putting its entire initial levy into cash and bonds, but reserving the option of a future allocation to other asset classes. However, it would be...

Comment: Leader - DC travels up the Rhine.
July 4, 2005... As Dutch pension funds, insurance companies and fund managers prepare for the launch of the country's new defined contribution early retirement system, politicians not too far away in Berlin appear to be moving towards near unanimous support...

Comment: World View - "Black gold" will have its chance to shine.
July 4, 2005... Readers may recall a previous column, which indicated that the Middle East is, and will remain, one of the main areas that will profit from global economic developments. But it is not only oil that benefits the region - even though the booming...

Comment: Industry Voice - The shift towards globalisation.
July 4, 2005... UK companies are increasingly owned by foreign investors, while hiring managers outside the UK to manage their assets. The effect is the decline of the concentrated ownership and control of a small number of domestic asset managers and...

Comment: Mephisto - Authors stuck on the fence.
July 4, 2005... "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance," said Socrates. The investment industry, like many others, garners its knowledge from new, repeated or one-off studies, all written by the usual suspects: accountants, the trade press,...

Special Focus: The Netherlands - Dutch pension reform: too much at once?
July 4, 2005... With just six months to go before the planned date for the introduction of an unprecedented wave of reforms, Dutch pension funds are still assessing not only the implications of the new financial assessment framework for pension funds (FTK),...

Special Focus: The Netherlands - E120BN expected for very long bonds.
July 4, 2005... The 2006 introduction of the FTK and the subsequent shift to fair-value accounting of pension liabilities has left the fixed-income market salivating. The regulations, which will sharply increase the volatility of institutional investors'...

Special Focus: The Netherlands - From z-score to t-test?
July 4, 2005... Many believe that performance calculations for Dutch industry-wide pension funds are not only beneficial but even essential. Nonetheless, this does not negate the case against the current z-score as a calculation instrument - a case that has...

Special Focus: The Netherlands - Structured Products - The benefits of guaranteed structured products.
July 4, 2005... The market downturns of recent years have dramatically affected most institutional investors, and this is particularly true of pension funds. This is perhaps surprising given that an increasingly thorough range of structured products has been...

Fund Profile: UK Environment Agency - Looking for an active attitude on green issues.
July 4, 2005... The Environment Agency active pension fund was established in 1996, following the merger between the National River Authority pension fund and several government and local authority funds. Now sized at GBP1.1bn, the scheme is now the 20th...

Pensions Snapshot: Poland.
July 4, 2005... Poland is often cited as an ideal model for successful pension reform. Following a major shake-up of the old system, all present and future employees born after 1 January 1969 now receive a basic state pension complemented by mandatory and...

News: PGGM expects E2bn by 2012 in pioneering DC fund.
July 18, 2005... PGGM has stepped into the DC market with the launch of the first early- retirement savings product tied to the Dutch government's current pensions overhaul. It expects to generate assets of E2bn by 2012 for the product, known as a...

News: UK membership boost.
July 18, 2005... Automatic enrolment into company pension schemes would increase pension fund membership by up to 30 per cent, claims the UK's DWP. The claim comes as work and pensions secretary David Blunkett published employer guidelines, spelling out...

News: Aberdeen AM pips rivals to DeAM deal.
July 18, 2005... Aberdeen Asset Management has beaten off rivals, said to include Schroders and BNP Paribas Asset Management, in the running for five Deutsche Asset Management units. It has agreed to take over unprofitable business units, understood to include...

News: Wassum predicts rise in company schemes in wake of Norwegian pension reforms.
July 18, 2005... The Norwegian move to compulsory occupational pensions in January 2006 will see the establishment of company pension schemes in Norway and the move away from expensive life insurance contracts as companies look to cut costs, says Tor Sydnes,...

News: Academic charged with PPM review hints at reduction in number of funds.
July 18, 2005... Professor Karl-Olof Hammarkvist, the academic charged with preparing a reform proposals for Sweden's Premium Pension system (PPM), has hinted that he might recommend a reduction in the number of funds in the PPM. The system, which at...

News: Merged E1.92bn Gildi fund set to review managers in wake of Framsyn/Sjomanna tie-up.
July 18, 2005... Iceland's general worker's fund (Framsyn Lifeyrissjodur), ranked third by assets under management, has joined forces with the country's fourth-ranked seamen's fund (Sjomanna Lifeyrissjodur) to form the Gildi pension fund. From 1 June, the...

News: News in brief.
July 18, 2005... UKEA PICKS MORLEY AND ROBECO The UK Environment Agency has appointed two further specialist fund managers for its GBP1bn (E1.45bn) active pension fund. Morley Fund Management and Robeco will each manage GBP60m (E90m) mandates in segregated...

News: Over 90 per cent of European CFOs have made significant changes to their pension plans, claims Towers Perrin survey.
July 18, 2005... Ninety per cent of European chief financial officers (CFOs) significantly altered benefits and investment policies last year in response to capital markets and regulatory change, according to the latest Towers Perrin survey. Changes have...

News: People on the move.
July 18, 2005... MERCER MAKES TRIO OF LEADERSHIP HIRES Mercer Human Resource Consulting has recruited three new senior executives to its leadership team. E. Michael Caulfield has been appointed to the newly created role of chief operating officer. Mr...

News: UK Pension Protection Fund levy proposals raises insolvency fears.
July 18, 2005... The publication of the UK Pension Protection Fund's risk-based levy proposals has provoked controversy and confusion, with the annual GBP300m (E435m) levy set to rise and questions mounting about whether it could trip some firms into...

News: Spain reveals plans to permit domestic hedge fund sales; legislation expected later this year.
July 18, 2005... Spain has unveiled plans to allow the domestic sale of hedge funds. Eighteen months after parliament approved a law authorising the sale of hedge funds, the Spanish economy ministry announced it will allow their distribution later this...

News: German bankers call for 'measured' hedge fund regulatory regime.
July 18, 2005... Germany's leading association of private sector banks called for "measured" hedge fund regulation, conducted at international level and including off- shore financial centres. "The goal must be to increase transparency and discipline among...

News: Danish hedge fund regulations in force.
July 18, 2005... The new Danish regulatory framework for hedge funds, which will allow hedge funds to be organised as associations, is now in force. The new regulations will place no limits on hedge funds' investment policies or risk profiles. Until...

News: Gartmore launches guaranteed hedge fund.
July 18, 2005... Gartmore investment management is creating a capital guarantee tranche of its AlphaGen Perseus fund of hedge funds, to be aimed at institutional investors in continental Europe. The London-based house is also to step up its private equity...

News: MLIM revamps liability product range with launch of fixed-income and pooled funds.
July 18, 2005... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) has improved its range of liability- driven investment solutions for pension funds with the launch of four new funds. Three fixed-income funds have been launched alongside a new pooled fund,...

News: Lupus Alpha launches micro-cap strategy.
July 18, 2005... The Frankfurt-based investment boutique Lupus Alpha has launched a European micro cap strategy, investing in European quoted companies with a market capitalisation of between E10m and E150m. Peter Conzatti, formerly a small caps manager at...

News: Macquarie draws oe1.5bn to infrastructure fund.
July 18, 2005... The Macquarie European Infrastructure fund has closed to new investors after reaching its E1.5bn cap. Launched in April 2004, Macquarie claims the fund is the first pan-European dedicated infrastructure fund. A spokeswoman for the firm...

News Analysis: Dutch MPs' anger at FTK costs.
July 18, 2005... Dutch parliamentarians are seeking to extend or redefine the planned 12-month coverage period for underfunded Dutch pension schemes as concerns mount about the cost of the new solvency regime. The new regulatory framework (FTK), to be...

Comment: Leader - Consultants change their stripes.
July 18, 2005... Things do not look terribly rosy in the investment consultancy sector. With increasing need to assess a whole new range of asset classes and structures, from asset-backed securities to hedge funds and swap structures, consultants have had to...

Comment: World view - Assessing the effect of real estate.
July 18, 2005... Investors are currently enjoying the bounty of strongly performing asset classes worldwide. Bonds, commodities, equities and even real estate are performing extraordinarily well. This great coincidence of benign performance is a tremendous...

Comment: Industry voice - Don't forget your shorts!
July 18, 2005... At this time of year, you might view this as just sound advice for those heading for their summer break and the beach. But if I were to tell you that what I really mean is that your pension fund is really a quasi-hedge fund, you might be...

Comment: Mephisto - Bouzouki pensions.
July 18, 2005... Mephisto sees that little has changed in the Greek pensions sector in the six months since she last popped down to Athens. Indeed, Mephisto missed not one single important development in Greece while she was busy following the rapid evolution...

Special Focus: Custodians - Finding the perfect partnership.
July 18, 2005... Some custodians believe it is absolutely essential to have local presence in certain European markets, while others are of the school of thought that remote access is also a viable solution for some countries. However, most agree that economies...

Half-year Market Overview: The small caps have it.
July 18, 2005... The first half of 2005 would have seen almost unbroken rises in eurozone equities had it not been for a brief but steep fallback in mid-April that began with poor results from IBM and hit tech stocks worldwide. That, together with ongoing...

Germany: Consulting the consultants.
July 18, 2005... Those involved in investment and occupational pension consulting expect further growth in their sector overall - in the short to medium term at least. The latest dpn survey of consultants shows that the 21 firms who published their business...

Pensions Snapshot: Italy.
July 18, 2005... After many false starts, Italy's pensions goldrush might finally be here. The government plans to begin a major diversion of the Tfr, employees' severance pay, into pension funds from next January. Tfr is a nationwide system, and the value...