epn: European Pensions & Investment News articles from November 2006

epn: European Pensions & Investment News archives from November 2006

News: FRR to investigate fiduciary duty in responsible investing.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy French pensions reserve fund FRR is co-sponsoring a project to determine the financial basis of socially responsible investment, FRR's CEO Antoine de Salins told the recent Triple Bottom Line conference in Paris. ...

News: Finnish fund's e1bn government cash injection.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Chris Newlands The E8.3bn Finnish State Pension Fund is to receive a cash injection of almost E1bn from the Finnish government before the end of the year, which it is to use to increase its current 4 per cent exposure to...

News: Global M&A deals hit record high.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Chris Newlands Global M&A deals in investment management have topped 167 so far this year, eclipsing the previous record high of 159 in 2004. The amount of assets acquired hit a record $1.41 trillion (e1.1 trillion) - $4bn more...

News: Fortis explains game plan behind Cadogan investment.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Thomas Escritt Fortis intends its acquisition of a majority stake in the specialist New York fund of hedge funds manager Cadogan as a fast-track way of building its profile in the area. Will Braman, US chief executive of...

News: Etera rewrites guidelines to allow tactical weighting.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Chris Newlands Etera, the E5.6bn Finnish mutual pension insurance company, is in the process of rewriting its investment guidelines so that it can invest more tactically, and overweight and underweight certain asset classes more...

News: Portfolio revamp fever hits UK local authorities.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Kalpana Fitzpatrick A number of UK local authority pension funds are revamping their portfolios, with some venturing into alternatives for the first time. The London borough of Enfield pension fund is to invest in...

News: News in brief - Investment director quits LPFA after just five weeks in the job.
November 20, 2006... The London Pensions Fund Authority has lost its investment director Suzanne Ross just five weeks after joining. Ms Ross cited personal reasons for her decision. The authority is seeking a replacement for Ms Ross, who had recently completed a...

News: News in brief - BHF to open contractual trust agreement to third parties.
November 20, 2006... German private bank BHF has received permission to open its private contractual trust agreement to third parties. The bank, which claims to be the first institution in Germany to open up its CTA scheme, is targeting small and medium-sized...

News: Hewitt opens international benefits practice in Holland.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Thomas Escritt Hewitt Associates has opened an international benefits consulting practice in the Netherlands and has poached Mellon Analytical Solutions' Dutch country head, Dolf Hoeks, to lead the operation. The practice will...

News: Arlington capitalises on increased Dutch interest in property.
November 20, 2006... Property investment and services business Arlington Securities is building out its Amsterdam-based research team in response to increased interest in the asset class from Dutch pension funds. Gert-Jan Kapiteyn, a former research manager for...

News: People on the move - Kiddie to take over as ABN Amro CIO in new year.
November 20, 2006... David Kiddie is to become chief investment officer for equities at ABN Amro Asset Management from early 2007. He replaces Kevin Smith who is leaving the company for personal reasons. Mr Kiddie joins from Baring Asset Management, where he had...

News: People on the move - ABN Amro hires relationship managers across Europe.
November 20, 2006... ABN Amro Mellon Global Securities has appointed appointed new relationship managers in the UK, Netherlands and Germany. Clive Robinson has joined the company's Amsterdam office from State Street, where he was a client relationship manager. The...

News: People on the move - Aitken to advise on defined contribution at Watson Wyatt.
November 20, 2006... Will Aitken has joined Watson Wyatt as a senior consultant in its defined contribution pension business. He has spent the past 10 years at Aon, most recently as a senior consultant. Mr Aitken will be providing advice on regulated and...

News: People on the move - PGGM adds three external members to audit committee.
November 20, 2006... The Dutch healthcare and social work sector pension fund PGGM has announced the appointment of three new external members to its audit committee. The new members are W. M. van den Goorbergh, J. C. A. Gortemaker, and A. H. A. Hoevenaars. All...

News: People on the move - Aon promotes Connell to run benefits solutions group.
November 20, 2006... Alistair Connell has been named managing director of Aon Consulting's newly created benefits solutions division, which opens for business in 2007. Created out of Aon's track record in group risk, healthcare, flexible benefits and insured...

News: People on the move - Investit appoints IT specialist Stratford as a consultant.
November 20, 2006... Investit has appointed Simon Stratford - previously global IT director at Henderson Global Investors - as a specialist consultant. Mr Stratford joins to drive the growth of Investit's IT value survey, which examines the spend, effectiveness and...

News: Ethical fund offers incentive to emerging market firms.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Thomas Escritt A new socially responsible emerging markets fund offers investors both a carrot and a stick to bring about changes in the governance of emerging market companies. The new fund, provided by BankInvest, a Danish...

News: First German client signs up to F&C's Responsible Engagement Overseas service.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Thomas Escritt F&C has signed up the first German customer for its Responsible Engagement Overlay (Reo) service, which allows institutional investors to run a sustainable portfolio without resorting to screened funds. The first...

News: Asset managers and pension funds can't agree on fees.
November 20, 2006... Pension funds and asset managers are not finding it easy to reach an agreement on fees, Invesco's seventh annual European Institutional Asset Management Survey has found. The survey, which was conducted among a broad range of continental...

News Analysis: Lean on brokers over commission recapture.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Chris Newlands Pension funds are not doing enough on the issue of commission recapture and should question brokers who claim fees are now so tight that recapture programmes are redundant, says a group of market experts. An...

Focus: Pensions Accounting - Risk is no longer black and white.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Stephen Bouvier A sense of humour isn't something you would normally associate with accountants. But the decision to launch the International Accounting Standards Board's review of pensions accounting with an education session for...

Fund Profile: PBU - Youthful members are the boldest investors.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Thomas Escritt The 100,000 members of the e4bn Danish Early Childhood Teachers (PBU) pension fund may be older than their charges, but they are still a young bunch, something which spares their pension fund manager from grey hairs...

Pensions Snapshot: Finland.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Thomas Escritt With just a few committee hearings before it passes into law, Finland's new pension fund investment regulations look certain to do so on 1 January next year. The reforms, which will allow private pension funds...