epn: European Pensions & Investment News articles from June 2006

epn: European Pensions & Investment News archives from June 2006

News: Strategic allocation shake-up leads to FRR recruitment drive.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Chris Newlands FRR, the E28.1bn French pensions reserve fund, is to tap the market for 15 investment professionals over the next four months in a bid to boost its internal staff to 45. The news comes just as the fund is to...

News: BVV: funds should bone up on risk and diversify.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy Pension funds should address now likely future changes in regulation and in financial markets, says Rainer Jakubowski, head of investments at BVV, the German banking industry pension fund. BVV is the largest German...

News: Commodities on the cards for Swedish govt staff fund.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik Kapan Pensioner, the SKr26bn (E2.8bn) fund for Swedish government employees, is considering investing in commodities. Gunnar Balsvik, president of the fund, told epn that Kapan has not yet reached a decision on the...

News: Gartmore sale 'defers the firm's problems'.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Christine Senior Gartmore has been sold in a deal involving a management buy-out and a private equity group. Private equity group Hellman & Friedman and senior Gartmore fund managers and executives have sealed an agreement for...

News: IASB curtails disclosure requirements on surpluses.
June 5, 2006... The International Accounting Standards Board's interpretation committee has agreed to limit the scope of disclosures that account preparers will have to make on the assumptions underpinning recognition of a pension fund surplus as a net...

News: News in Brief - Walter Scott seeks business in defined contribution.
June 5, 2006... Walter Scott and Partners, the Edinburgh-based boutique asset manager set to be acquired by Mellon, is seeking to gain business through defined contribution channels and other areas where it has not traditionally had exposure, and does not have...

News: News in Brief - Goldman Sachs motors to massive fiduciary mandate.
June 5, 2006... The Dutch transport pension fund has awarded the Netherlands' largest fiduciary mandate to date to Goldman Sachs asset management, outsourcing its entire assets of E5.4bn. "The pension fund considered many fiduciary providers, but as a result...

News: News in Brief - Global equity funds pick up popularity within Folkeborsen.
June 5, 2006... Global equity funds at Folkeborsen, the Danish electronic supplementary pension savings platform, are becoming increasingly popular. Among the 10 most popular funds, two funds invest mainly in the domestic market and three in Russia and Eastern...

News: News in Brief - Pictet Asset Management.
June 5, 2006... Stephen Barber, group managing director and global head of marketing has asked epn to point out that its Alphanatics multi-strategy internal multi- manager fund was launched in August 2004 and not in August last year as stated. Alphanatics has...

News: SEB chief Klagsbrun moves to senior partner post at EQT.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik Harry Klagsbrun, head of SEB Asset Management and member of the group executive committee, is moving on to take up a position as senior partner at the private equity firm EQT Partners. Mr Klagsbrun joined SEB group...

News: Sevon leaves LGPI for CEO role at Nordea.
June 5, 2006... Nordea Investment Management in Finland has appointed Staffan Sevon as its new chief investment officer. Mr Sevon joins Nordea from the E20bn Local Government Pension Institution (LGPI) where he was chief investment officer, equities. ...

People on the Move: Knorr joins the ranks at Henderson in director shake-up.
June 5, 2006... Henderson Global Investors has appointed Melanie Knorr as associate director of institutional business. Ms Knorr will be based in Frankfurt and report to Mathias Kulke, director of institutional business. Henderson has also promoted three...

People on the Move: Humphries takes on investment companies at Standard Life.
June 5, 2006... Standard Life Investments has appointed Gordon Humphries as head of investment companies. Mr Humphries joins the firm from F&C Asset Management where he was deputy head of investment trusts. He will be responsible for leading and developing the...

People on the Move: King establishes foundation in new Axa property role.
June 5, 2006... Axa Real Estate Investment Managers UK has appointed David King as fund manager. Mr King joins from Henderson Global Investors where he was director, property (Europe) since 2001. In this new role, Mr King will manage the new core plus...

People on the Move: Boujaoude takes on Pimco VP product management post.
June 5, 2006... Pimco has appointed Elissar Boujaoude as a senior vice president in the product management group, focusing on credit products in Europe. Prior to joining she was global head of credit research at Axa Investment Managers, where she worked from...

People on the Move: Bramdean appoints Botton for manager research team.
June 5, 2006... Bramdean Asset Management has appointed Veronique Botton to work in the manager research team. Ms Botton joins Bramdean from Northern Trust. She will be involved in all aspects of research and monitoring as well as becoming a member of the...

People on the Move: Steffen targets southern Germany in MLIM sales job.
June 5, 2006... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) has appointed Frank Steffen as sales manager responsible for the southern German region. Prior to joining MLIM, Mr Steffen headed up the Munich investment centre of Citibank Privatkunden.

People on the Move: T. Rowe Price bags equity specialist Sabharwal.
June 5, 2006... T. Rowe Price Global Investment Services has appointed Arvind Sabharwal as an equity portfolio specialist. Mr Sabharwal joins from Cazenove Capital Management where he was an equity portfolio manager and equity analyst. He will be based in the...

News: UK funds prove size does matter with hedge funds.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Christine Senior UK pensions funds are lagging their European counterparts in committing to hedge funds, but once invested they make bigger allocations, according to Mercer's European asset allocation survey. Some 7 per cent...

News: Enhanced Analytics Initiative assets increase to e811bn as Investec AM joins the mix.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Christine Senior Investec Asset Management has joined the Enhanced Analytics Initiative, bringing the assets under management covered by the initiative to more than E811bn. Henrik du Toit, chief executive officer of Investec...

News: AAM bags Railpen and Merchant Navy mandates.
June 5, 2006... ABN Amro Mellon (AAM) has picked up two significant custody mandates from UK pension funds. AAM is replacing JPMorgan as second custodian alongside The Bank of New York for the GBP17bn (E24.8bn) Railpen scheme, while the GBP3.2bn Merchant...

News Analysis: Fed tested by black week for equities.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Chris Newlands When Watson Wyatt proclaimed on Thursday 4 May that the IAS19 pension deficits of the UK's top 100 companies had fallen by GBP9bn (E13.2bn) to GBP34bn - their lowest levels since June 2002 - the FTSE 100 was standing...

Comment: Leader - Lessons learned and predictions for the future.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy In 1998, when the first issue of this magazine was published, the investment world for pension funds was markedly different. Investments were denominated in guilders, marks and the like. The launch of the euro at...

Comment: World View - Sell off shows it pays to be diligent.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Klaudius Sobczyk Investors have got used to market sell off periods in emerging markets and in other risky and volatile assets. However, very few would admit that similar fast and ferocious sell off could happen in developed...

Comment: Industry Voice - German resurgence boosts euro hopes.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Christopher Probyn World growth has been strong in recent years, but the upswing has been far from balanced globally. Asia-Pacific and the Americas have been well positioned to share in the global expansion driven by two key growth...

Comment: An unwelcome tropical souvenir.
June 5, 2006... Mephisto was very much looking forward to meeting Investec's senior management team last week when he accepted an invitation to the company's annual go-karting event at the Raceway in London's Kings Cross. But after donning a boiler suit...

View From The Top: Pension investments a decade ahead.
June 5, 2006... Bjarne Graven Larsen, chief investment officer, ATP, Copenhagen Over the next decade, the pensions industry will be faced with a dilemma. The transition to mark-to-market accounting and capital adequacy requirements will put pressure on...

Interview: FRR - FRR SRI road test may be template for future.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Chris Newlands FRR, the E28.1bn French pensions reserve fund, had always expected to appoint six managers at the end of its E600m SRI tendering process. But when, on April 24, it bucked the trend of appointing a standby manager and...

Investment Consulting: Tackling MiFID, and other small challenges.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Maha Khan Philips It is not an easy time to be a consultant in the fund management industry. Increased pressure on transparency and performance, and the enhanced demands being imposed by pension fund clients, means that consultants...

Liability-driven Investment: Dutch bond shift begins as FTK looms.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Bram van den Oever Dutch investors' fixed income allocations have not grown markedly since 2003. Nevertheless the Agentschap, the Dutch government debt issuance office, says that pension funds are increasingly important...

Fund Profile: Sonera Pension Fund - Sonera braces itself for Finnish regulatory shake-up.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik The investments of Sonera pension fund, which covers the employees of telecommunications company TeliaSonera Finland and its local subsidiaries, yielded an impressive 10.9 per cent return last year, with assets...

Pensions Snapshot: Czech Republic.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik In 2004-2005, an independent group of experts examined how the Czech pensions system could be reformed to deal with future demographic challenges. The working group put forward three main proposals. Firstly, it...

News: Keva portfolio shake-up sees equities and alternatives rise.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik Keva, the E20bn Finnish Local Government Pension Fund, intends to increase exposure to equities, alternative asset classes and property over the next three years. It will also introduce commodities and reduce its...

News: FRR unveils its taste for alternatives with 10% allocation.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Chris Newlands FRR, the French pensions reserve fund, has confirmed its intention to push 10 per cent of its E28.1bn of assets into alternatives with a third invested in private equity and the remainder split between real estate...

News: Industry concern over Ucits passports continues.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy So far, so good on Ucits eligible assets. But have the European Commission and the European investment industry reached an impasse over notification and fund mergers? Most fund management companies that have tried...

News: PGGM unveils plans to expand its portfolio of strategies.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy PGGM is planning to add two environmental-based strategies to its 'portfolio of strategies', which was initiated last year. The fund has a target to invest 8 per cent of assets in the portfolio of strategies, which...

News: Axa Rosenberg optimistic about 130/30 equity strategy after initial Dutch interest.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy Axa Rosenberg, the California-based quantitative equity boutique foresees considerable European interest in its new global 130/30 equity strategy, and says it already has one Dutch client in the pipeline. The...

News: News in Brief - BNP Paribas announces FFTW takeover following long alliance.
June 19, 2006... BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) has announced the full acquisition of Fischer, Frances, Trees & Watts (FFTW), the specialist fixed income manager. FFTW, with which BNPP AM has had a strategic relationship for seven years, will remain an...

News: News in Brief - Pimco and Goldman Sachs to partner for derivatives range.
June 19, 2006... Pimco is to partner with Goldman Sachs to introduce a range of derivative products of protected and leveraged structures based on its All Asset Strategy, its actively managed multi-market strategy. The new products are designed to appeal to...

News: News in Brief - UK HMRC issues further Reits proposals.
June 19, 2006... Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs, the UK taxation agency, has moved to flesh out more details of its proposed regime for real estate investment trusts in the UK with publication of further draft regulations. The proposals from the new regime...

News: News in Brief - East Capital to launch Bering Balkan offshore fund.
June 19, 2006... East Capital, the Stockholm-based eastern Europe specialist, has launched a new offshore fund investing in south east Europe. The East Capital Bering Balkan fund is a closed-end fund and will be open for quarterly subscriptions until it reaches...

News: Korhonen moves back to asset management.
June 19, 2006... Kaupthing Asset Management in Finland has appointed Ari Korhonen, CIO of the E5.58bn Etera Mutual Pension Insurance company, as its new director. Mr Korhonen returns to the asset management industry after eight years at Etera. He joined the...

News: Vodafone and ING join shift towards defined contribution.
June 19, 2006... Byline: MRO & Bram van den Oever Two European corporates are making a move to DC. Vodafone in Germany introduced at the beginning of this month what it describes as a pure DC pension arrangement "to the extent that this is possible under...

News: People on the Move - Bayerische bolsters alternatives team.
June 19, 2006... The E35bn Bayerische Versorgungskammer in Munich is augmenting its alternatives team with the appointment of Dajana Brotmann and Constantine Echter. The team, which is led by Anselm Wagner, is responsible for areas such as hedge funds and...

News: People on the Move - Van der Windt takes over as director of Metalektro.
June 19, 2006... Hans van der Windt is taking over the tiller as director at the Dutch Metalektro pension fund from Gerard van Dalen, who is to become general director at Docters Pension Fund Services. Mr van der Windt performs a number of functions at...

News: People on the Move - Owen takes on institutional sales post at SSgA.
June 19, 2006... State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), has appointed Richard Owen as head of its institutional sales for the UK and Ireland. Mr Owen joins SSgA from Citigroup Asset Management where he was director of business development.

News: People on the Move - Jorion to take over risk management for PAAMCO.
June 19, 2006... Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO) has appointed professor Philippe Jorion as a director in its risk management group. Prof Jorion will be based in PAAMCO's Irvine, California, office and focus on further enhancing both the...

News: People on the Move - Co-founder of Premia moves to Edhec from Putnam.
June 19, 2006... The Edhec Risk and Asset Management Research Centre has appointed Hilary Till as research associate. Ms Till is a co-founder of Premia Capital Management in Chicago and a specialist in the field of commodities trading and natural resources...

News: People on the Move - SEI appoint in de Rijp as client service director.
June 19, 2006... SEI has appointed Peter in de Rijp as client service director for the Benelux region. Mr in de Rijp joins SEI from Fortis Investment Management in the Netherlands where he worked six years, most recently as a member of the management team...

News: People on the Move - Nairn to take up F&C associate director position.
June 19, 2006... F&C Asset Management has appointed Richard Nairn as associate director for private equity funds. Mr Nairn joins F&C from Intelli Corporate Finance, a corporate advisory firm.

News: People on the Move - Henderson hires Eila Matt to develop hedge funds.
June 19, 2006... Henderson Global Investors has hired Eila Matt to develop its hedge fund business in North America. Ms Matt joins Henderson Global Investors from Ritchie Capital Management, where she was a managing director responsible for marketing and...

News: People on the Move - PSolve relies on Pike and Tindall for relationships.
June 19, 2006... PSolve Asset Solutions investment consultancy has appointed Tony Pike and Phil Tindall as principals and client relationship managers in its London office. Mr Pike joins from Deloitte where he was responsible for developing the regional...

News: ECJ targets Spain and Belgium over national tax discrimination.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Christine Senior The European Court of Justice is moving on to Spain and Belgium as part of the European Commission's open co-ordination procedure against national tax discrimination on pensions. Several other countries are...

News: The advocate general's decision.
June 19, 2006... The European Court of Justice's 1 June decision in the Lyal and Tams case upholds the case against Denmark for infringing a number of principles of the single market. Luxembourg-based complainants Lyal and Tams filed the complaint (C-...

News: Norwegian government appoints EIRIS to screen companies for unethical practices.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Christine Senior The Norwegian Government Pension Fund's Council on Ethics has appointed the UK-based Ethical Investment Research & Information Service (EIRIS) to help screen the companies it invests in. EIRIS will provide...

News: JPMorgan delivers to win Royal Mail mandate.
June 19, 2006... The Royal Mail Pension Plan has awarded a custody mandate to JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services. The award brings all Royal Mail's custody together with one provider. JPMorgan already handled the bulk of the custody for the GBP22bn...

News: Due diligence focus key to avoiding hedge fund risk.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Christine Senior Investors should focus on operational risk when assessing and selecting hedge fund managers, according to a white paper by The Bank of New York. Over the past few years the increasing inflows of institutional...

News: Final salary employee contributions tipped to snowball.
June 19, 2006... Employee contributions to final salary pension schemes continue to rise, with the average now standing at 5.2 per cent, says Watson Wyatt. Its 2006 Pension Plan Design Survey reveals that nearly half of final salary schemes with one...

News Analysis: Shifting risk perceptions mean demand for swaps remains high.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy The European market for swaps and other derivatives transactions is far from exhausted, according to a survey of European pension funds conducted by JP Morgan Asset Management. Indeed, it may just be beginning. ...

Comment: Leader - Unlike the British weather, the DC trend won't dampen.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy Whatever the weather, you can guarantee that the Englishman will be fully prepared with an umbrella tucked away somewhere in his briefcase. Why, then, does this innate caution towards the vagaries and inclemencies...

Comment: World View - Inflation woe or economic no-grow?
June 19, 2006... Byline: Klaudius Sobczyk Risk and volatility are back in the markets and investors are discussing the end of the recent bull market, which started back in 2003. Markets appear to be discounting the possibility of higher inflation and...

Comment: Industry Voice - Standing up against share blocking.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Karina Litvack Share blocking, which requires investors who want to vote to surrender the right to dispose of their shares for a defined period of time, undermines the voting process and leaves companies more vulnerable to...

Comment: All's fair in love and pensions...
June 19, 2006... Mephisto does not cease to marvel at the generosity of the management committee of the Dutch bank ING. While so many of company boards in the UK were beset in the 1990s and early 2000s by charges of fatcatery when they switched their...

Real Estate: Time for a change of tack in property.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Bram van den Oever Property yields have remained attractive over the past few years, and a growing economy should make the asset class even more attractive. But that does not mean property investment will be a problem-free zone...

Investment Feature: Sharing out strategic decision-making.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Sarah Smart The world would be a boring place if we all agreed with each other all the time. But when it comes to operating effective governance structures, and being accountable for areas of responsibility, it helps if the parties...

Fund Profile: Lothian Pension Fund - Equity shift sees Lothian diversify.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Iain Morse It is hard not to envy UK local authority pension schemes. They seem to enjoy the best of both worlds. On the one hand they still operate on a defined benefit (DB) basis, on the other, any scheme deficit is ultimately...

Pensions Snapshot: Turkey.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik Turkey's private pensions and social security legislation have been undergoing a series of substantial reforms since 2001. The legislative process has not always been smooth, however. Last month the president of...