epn: European Pensions & Investment News articles from June 2008

epn: European Pensions & Investment News archives from June 2008

News: FRR bridges allocation gap with proxy diversifiers.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson France The 34.5bn Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites (FRR) intends to buy some "proxy" diversifying investments to reach its target allocation during an interim period. The fund has a strategic allocation...

News: AP1 to throw further weight behind equities.
June 30, 2008... Sweden AP1, the SKr218.79bn (23.26bn) Swedish buffer fund, is to increase its reliance on equities at the expense of its bond holdings. Johan Magnusson, the fund's newly appointed managing director, who was headhunted from SEB Investment...

News: Hellman takes PPM top spot until merger.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Caroline Liinanki Sweden Johan Hellman has been appointed as director-general of Premiepensionsmyndigheten (PPM), the Swedish premium pension authority, until the organisation merges into a new pension authority in 2010. Mr...

News: Sampension holds off on pricey commodities.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson Denmark Sampension, the DKr93.2bn (12.5bn) Danish pension management company, is set to invest in energy-linked equities and has put its planned moves into commodities on hold. Earlier this year, the...

News: VBV looks to developed market ETFs for diversity.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson Austria VBV Pensionskasse, the 4.5bn Austrian pension fund, is looking into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), particularly from NYSE Euronext. Gunther Schiendl, chief investment officer for the fund, said ETFs...

News in brief.
June 30, 2008... Standard Life Investments has recruited its first European development manager for its real estate office in Paris. Frederic Celdran will join the firm in September and report to Danny McHugh, the Edinburgh-based head of the global property...

News: Fidelity eyes second home in Nordic centre for 'local flavour'.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Caroline Liinanki Fidelity Investments is planning to open its second office in the Nordic region. The firm, which has been based in Stockholm for 12 years, believes it now has enough scale and mass to increase its presence. ...

News: SGAM AI in hedge fund expansion.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson Societe Generale Asset Management Alternative Investments (SGAM AI) has indicated that it will expand its hedge fund products into Germany, the UK and the Nordic markets. Benoit Ruaudel, deputy head of global...

News: Corem reversal on planned asset move.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson France Corem, the 4.6bn French third pillar pension fund, has silenced rumours that it is about to move its assets abroad. In March, the fund's investment director Vincent Ribuot told epn that it was...

People News: Muzinich recruits for European expansion.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson Asset manager Muzinich & Co is recruiting up to three new members for its European sales team. Thom Bentley, director for institutional marketing at Muzinich, explained that the firm was hoping to expand its...

People News: New Liontrust sales head to build European clientele.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson Investment management firm Liontrust has appointed Jonathan Harbottle as its new European sales director. He is currently serving as the firm's marketing director and will begin his new position in July. ...

People News: People on the move.
June 30, 2008... Stephen Hirsch has been appointed deputy chief executive officer (CEO) of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) and will become second in command after CEO Yngve Slyngstad. Mr Hirsch was previously chief operating officer (COO) at NBIM,...

News Analysis: Investors short-tempered as sun sets on affordable oil.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson and Caroline Liinanki Oil prices have shown no sign of letting up, and many pension funds are tagging along for the ride. They see commodities, and especially oil, as a nice way to make sure their fund beats...

Comment: Leader - Break down barriers of Euro confusion.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson - Editor The stunning, but perhaps not entirely unexpected, 'no' vote on the EU's Lisbon Treaty does not bode well for those pushing for a more unified European pension system. While the treaty itself was not...

Comment: Industry voice - The hunt for high alpha.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Roger Miners Five years ago, the term 'high alpha' was unfamiliar with investors, and the notion that a concept originating from 1960s academic portfolio theory would develop into such a popular range of investment mandates would...

Comment: Mephisto - Who wins the Pensions Euro Cup of 2008?
June 30, 2008... The early favourites would have to be the Dutch with their strong solvency rate in defence and a wide array of attacking and aggressive investment options. However, they have ruffled some feathers recently in the cross- border pension war,...

Features: European consultants - Integration problems - Complicated EU a muddle for consultants.
June 30, 2008... When the EU Commission consulted member states on the framing of the IORP directive, its attempt to stipulate how pension funds ought to take investment decisions must have seemed a step too far. "This issue was left at the national level,"...

Defined contribution: Adapting post-DB - Preparing for life after the death of DB.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Gill Wadsworth The relentless march to defined contribution (DC) pension provision has forced intermediaries to adapt their business models or face extinction. Aware that the lucrative pool of defined benefit (DB) advisory work is...

The Specialist: Corporate ownership - Promoting pride of ownership.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Colin Melvin and Mark Goyder So Ranbaxy are to be sold to a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf and Asia are helping to restore the balance sheets of major US banks. The People's Bank of China is...

The Interview: FRR - Nicolas Sobczak.
June 30, 2008... Byline: Spencer Anderson How has the fund dealt with the current market situation? The FRR has just celebrated its first five years, and while it's been quite successful in terms of gaining credibility and becoming a part of the...