epn: European Pensions & Investment News articles from October 2007

epn: European Pensions & Investment News archives from October 2007

News: Buyout players bid for GBP80bn assets.
October 8, 2007... United Kingdom Two of the UK's leading buyout players are in negotiations to purchase the pension schemes of companies with assets totalling almost GBP80bn (115.3bn), it has been revealed. Mark Wood, chief executive of Paternoster,...

News: Brummer unveils 130/30 fund in institutional bid.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands Scandinavia Brummer & Partners, whose long-short equity fund Zenit was the first hedge fund in Scandinavia when it launched in 1996, is looking to broaden its international and institutional client base with the...

News: UK expert questions Telent take-over.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Kristen Paech United Kingdom The GBP400m (577m) takeover of Telent, the rump of the former industrial giant GEC, threatens the security of members' pension benefits and raises questions over the valuation of liabilities in the...

News: PKA ponders yet more alternatives.
October 8, 2007... PKA, the 16bn Danish occupational fund administrator, is considering adding hedge funds and commodities to its already widely diversified alternatives portfolio. "We are in a phase of investigating both hedge funds and commodities and...

News in Brief: Aberdeen Asset Management is to launch.
October 8, 2007... Aberdeen Asset Management is to launch a property fund in Russia, which has an ambitious internal target rate of return of 14 per cent to 18 per cent a year. The fund, which is Aberdeen's first Eastern European property fund, will be released...

News in Brief: Interpolis Pensions Asset Management.
October 8, 2007... Interpolis Pensions Asset Management (Interpolis Pensioenen Vermogensbeheer) has appointed ABN Amro Mellon to manage a 220m accounting mandate. ABN Amro Mellon will be responsible for Interpolis' newly formed global high yield pool vehicle,...

News in Brief: Standard Life Investments has launched its European Smaller Companies Fund.
October 8, 2007... Standard Life Investments has launched its European Smaller Companies Fund, targeting European institutional and retail investors. The fund will invest in a diverse range of smaller-size European companies and will be structured as a sub-fund...

News: Fitch encourges long bond demand for German CTAs.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Kristen Paech Germany German companies that shift pension obligations from their balance sheet via external funding vehicles must issue long bonds to cover their deficit to avoid a negative impact on their corporate rating,...

News: UK schemes turn to derivatives in search for diversification.
October 8, 2007... United Kingdom Pension fund use of derivatives is booming with UK funds fuelling growth of the inflation-linked market and European funds showing a growing appetite for liability-hedging solutions, according to Watson Wyatt. The...

People News: Kvam succeeds Syse for NBIM's governance.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Caroline Liinanki Norway Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) has appointed Anne Kvam to succeed Henrik Syse as its head of corporate governance. Ms Kvam is currently vice president legal at Norske Skog, the Norwegian...

People News: Stockholm office signals Deutsche Nordic move.
October 8, 2007... Deutsche Asset Management has opened an office in Stockholm and is looking to expand its Nordic and Baltic business further. The firm has started out by appointing Johan Hamilton, previously country head for Sweden and Finland at Schroders, as...

People on the Move: Leflot takes on Ireland for Fortis.
October 8, 2007... Marc Leflot has been appointed as Fortis' country manager for Ireland. He will be responsible for co-ordinating all business activities within Fortis Ireland. Mr Leflot was previously global head of cash management and a member of the...

People on the Move: Humphries to tackle BlackRock relationships.
October 8, 2007... BlackRock has recruited Rosina Humphries to its global consultant relations team. Ms Humphries will be responsible for managing relationships with a number of UK investment consultants. She joins from Legal and General, where she managed...

People on the Move: Alecta buys Selling.
October 8, 2007... The Swedish occupational pensions company Alecta has appointed Bo Selling as head of equities. He joins from Handelsbanken Fonder, where he was responsible for managing Swedish equities. Mr Selling has over 20 years' equity market experience...

People on the Move: Pugh new Mercer DC services chief.
October 8, 2007... Mercer has appointed Tony Pugh to the new role of head of defined contribution pension services in the UK. Mr Pugh will coordinate and grow the firm's defined contribution service as well as develop new approaches for the area. Mr Pugh was...

People on the Move: Du Plessis to focus on fiduciary.
October 8, 2007... Goldman Sachs Asset Management has appointed Andre du Plessis as co-head of its global manager strategies business and head of fiduciary business, EMEA. Mr du Plessis will work alongside co-head Matthew Wade and focus on fiduciary management,...

People on the Move: Heatley turns to Aon admin.
October 8, 2007... Aon Consulting has poached Stuart Heatley from Capita Hartshead to become managing director of its pensions administration division. Mr Heatley was previously a sales and marketing director with responsibility for the development and promotion...

News Analysis: Hype over buyout business masks lacklustre take-up.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Caroline Liinanki Despite the fanfare surrounding the UK buyout market, which has been largely driven by the competing firms, the market for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes is yet to take off, according to figures from Aon...

Comment: Leader - Dust off your trunks and make a new splash.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands It is time to dust off your CVs - if they have had time to collect any dust, that is. Obviously in the cut-throat and heady world of fund management it is not unusual for people to come and go and for opportunities...

Industry Voice: Try not to lose your nerve.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Michael O'Brien If anyone ever wanted a perfect example of what would happen to markets if liquidity were to dry up, they've now got their wish. The recent market turmoil, felt by the largest pension schemes through the entire...

Mephisto: The dark horse comes out on top in credit crunch.
October 8, 2007... Not even hedge funds, the creme de la creme of the financial world, managed to escape a bit of a battering when the credit markets plunged into turmoil recently. Long-only managers watched their carefully picked stocks plummet, quant funds...

Spotlight: Class Action - Making a case for taking a case to court.
October 8, 2007... Byline: David Scott The 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) revised US securities laws so that injured investors meet higher standards when filing securities fraud class actions. The act also recognised private securities...

Class Action: Chasing the greater good with litigation.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands It is funny how when you learn a word for the first time that word follows you around for the next couple of days or weeks popping up in conversations or in what you are reading. You can go your whole life having...

Fund Profile: Sweden - Kapan Pensioner - Kapan looking further afield for quirky products.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Caroline Liinanki With a rather unorthodox view on investment, Kapan Pensioner, the 3.7bn pension fund for Swedish government employees, is pursuing a rather bold investment strategy - and is currently in the process of boosting...

Country Profile: Norway.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Caroline Liinanki When mandatory occupational pensions were introduced in Norway in 2006, many providers - both large and small - were hopeful of winning a share of the marketplace. Unfortunately, it largely resulted in the big...

The Specialist: Ernst-Jan de Leeuw - Property - Property returns hang in the balance.
October 8, 2007... In April 2007 UK CPI inflation was running at 2.8 per cent year-on-year, under the 3 per cent barrier first breached in March, but still significantly higher than the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) target rate of 2 per cent....

Economics: US Outlook - Fed rate cut may not save floundering US.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Douglas Roberts The US Federal Reserve has been under considerable pressure to alleviate the turmoil that has been afflicting the financial markets. Its initial response was to lower the discount rate and ensure sufficient...

News: Hermes EOS set to double client list.
October 22, 2007... United Kingdom Hermes Equity Ownership Services (EOS) is to double its client base over the next six months with the announcement of five new pension fund mandates. The firm, which pursues corporate governance for pension funds, won its...

News: Investors keep faith with equities despite credit crunch.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands Despite credit crunch fears more than a quarter of European pension and insurance funds intend to increase their exposure to equities over the next six months, according to the latest epn investor survey - which...

News: Bonds broken as Nest eyes alternatives.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Caroline Liinanki Switzerland Nest, the 360m Swiss pension fund, intends to increase its alternatives and equities holdings at the expense of its bond assets. The fund, which invests 90 per cent of its assets according to...

News: RCM hopes firms farm money.
October 22, 2007... Specialist equity manager RCM, part of Allianz Global Investors, is to launch an Agricultural Trends fund for institutional and retail investors in 2008, epn can reveal. The mutual fund, which will act as an adjunct to the EcoTrends fund...

News in Brief: Standard Life Investments (SLI).
October 22, 2007... Standard Life Investments (SLI) has signed a distribution agreement with Finnish savings bank Aktia. The deal is the second arrangement made in the past week after SLI announced an agreement with Swedish firm Merrant. Asa Norrie,...

News in Brief: iShares has launched two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
October 22, 2007... iShares has launched two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bringing its total to 52 trading on the London Stock Exchange. The first, iShares S&P Global Timber and Forestry, will give access to the S&P timber and forestry index, which is...

News in Brief: UK retailer WHSmith's pension liabilities fell by GBP10m.
October 22, 2007... UK retailer WHSmith's pension liabilities fell by GBP10m (E14m) after of the closure of its defined benefit scheme. In the company's preliminary results for the year ending August 2007, WHSmith said it gave GBP35m to its pension trust. ...

News: Survey reveals pitfalls of investing in European equities.
October 22, 2007... Kristen Paech Pension funds with exposure to European equities could be running a high level of risk in their portfolios after new research identified over 100 companies likely to be adversely affected by the current credit squeeze. ...

News: Nordics up alternatives but favour private equity and real estate.
October 22, 2007... Scandinavia New research from Danish investment consultancy Kirstein Finance shows Swedish institutional investors increasing their alternatives allocations, but favouring real estate and private equity over hedge funds. The firm has...

News: Not coming clean about going green.
October 22, 2007... United Kingdom Fund managers are not publicly disclosing their responsible investment policies despite having such polices in place, says FairPensions, the socially responsible campaigner. A survey by the firm found that 75 per cent of the...

People News: F&C trio hire marks flight to fiduciary.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands The Netherlands F&C has added three new members of staff to its institutional strategy team and plans to hire another three over the next six months to coincide with the launch of its fiduciary management...

People News: Cox moves up to give Hewitt global scope.
October 22, 2007... Hewitt Associates has promoted Andy Cox to head of its global benefits consulting business. Mr Cox, previously head of the firm's retirement consulting business in the UK, will be responsible for the global expansion of the firm's benefits...

People on the Move: Duo join Schroders UK team.
October 22, 2007... Schroder Property Investment Management has made two appointments to its UK business. Milena Wipplinger has joined as product executive to the Global Property Securities Fund. She previously worked at Aareal Bank's property team in Germany,...

People on the Move: Putyatin presides at Pimco.
October 22, 2007... Pimco has added Vladyslav Putyatin as senior vice president and portfolio manager to its European portfolio management team. Mr Putyatin will focus on financial modelling and quantitative finance. He joins from Deutsche Bank, where he was...

People on the Move: Atherton promoted to partner at LCP.
October 22, 2007... Lane Clark & Peacock has appointed James Atherton as a partner. He joins from Deloitte, where he spent the last 10 years. Mr Atherton will be advising clients on different aspects of UK occupational pension schemes. The firm has also promoted...

People on the Move: Rimmer takes COO post at BGI.
October 22, 2007... Barclays Global Investors has appointed Chris Rimmer as managing director and chief operating officer, Europe. He joins from BlackRock, where he was chief operating officer for Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Pacific. Prior to that, he had...

News Analysis: Is there still value in commission recapture?
October 22, 2007... Byline: Kristen Paech The tightening of UK regulation on disclosure requirements for commission recapture and a perceived crunch in fees has seen some global brokers quit offering commission recapture for UK-based money managers. They...

Comment: Leader - Hopping on the last stop of the bandwagon.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands If you can't beat them, join them. An adage all too familiar in the asset management arena. Not just at a business level, where we saw a record number of asset management tie ups last year including Bank of New...

Industry Voice: Another missed chance.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Jos Vermeulen The turn of the century saw falling yields and crumbling equity markets - hitting pension funding levels hard. The combination of rising liabilities and falling assets was the 'perfect storm' for pensions, recovering...

Mephisto: Sigh of relief premature as city slickers face boot.
October 22, 2007... The wobble at Northern Rock and subsequent bail out by the Bank of England gave many a banker a scare. Leading industry bodies claim the bank was a prudent investor and a chance victim of the credit market turmoil. It could have happened to...

Fund Profile: Switzerland - Nest Sammelstiftung - Nest eyes wider pool of assets, including water.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Caroline Liinanki Socially responsible investment might be the latest fashion for some investors, but is nothing new for the 360m Swiss pension fund Nest. As pioneers of SRI, the fund has for the last 25 years invested with a view...

Country Profile: Switzerland.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Caroline Liinanki and Thomas Escritt At first there was panic. Demographic aging, it was said, could run Switzerland's E17.5bn Federal Social Security Fund (AHV) down to nothing within 10 years if the basis on which it is funded did...

Pensions Pooling: Belgium responds to Dutch war of words.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands If you have ever had a burning desire to be in the same room as a European political heavyweight then now is an ideal time to be touring the conference circuit - but only if you have an interest in where a...

Features: Pensions Pooling - New players enter cross-border battle.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Christine Senior Dublin and Luxembourg seem to be neck and neck in the race to become the premier location for pooling pension assets in Europe. Both jurisdictions were quick off the mark in establishing tax transparent vehicles...

Features: In Brief.
October 22, 2007... - According to research from Towers Perrin 63 per cent of companies surveyed were considering harmonisation of pension schemes in Europe, 90 per cent of companies thought asset pooling would give higher added value, and 26 per cent were...

The Specialist: Professor Thierry Post - Behavioural Finance - Learn a thing or two from the telly.
October 22, 2007... Frank Theunissen, a 36-year-old salesman, shifted his weight nervously on the TV game show 'Deal or No Deal'. After disappointing rounds that dashed his hopes of walking away a rich man, the game-show host offered him 6,000 to quit. Theunissen...

Investor Survey: Investment Outlook - Credit crunch dents equity optimism.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Chris Newlands The credit crunch has not gone unnoticed among European pension and insurance funds. Three months ago respondents to epn's quarterly investor survey predicted Asian (excluding Japan) and emerging market equities...