epn: European Pensions & Investment News articles from September 2006

epn: European Pensions & Investment News archives from September 2006

News: Sweden set to launch son of ITP with a DC component.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Pirkko Juntunen After years of union negotiations and long delays, investment providers can at last bid for the assets of a new occupational pension plan in Sweden. In the future, contributions are expected to grow by SKr26bn...

News: Dutch govt re-opens debate on z-score testing regime.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Bram van den Oever A decision by the Dutch ministry of social affairs has breathed new life into the debate on a replacement for the z-score testing regime for industry pension funds. The Dutch industry working group working on...

News: New hedge funds in Fortis strategic plan.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy Fortis Investments is to expand its hedge fund of fund capability and is to expand environmentally focused equity investments as part of a five-year plan. The firm's parent, Fortis Group, ruled out a sale of its...

News: Asset management revamp signals new look for Norway.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik The Norwegian ministry of finance has created a new asset management department in a bid to make the investment procedures of the NKr1,505bn (E184.9bn) Government Pension Fund "more efficient and sophisticated". ...

News: Overlaps see VR axe external asset managers.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik VR Pension Fund, the E920m scheme for workers in the Finnish state railways, has reduced its number of external asset managers in a bid to increase efficiency and reduce management overlap. Hannu Hokka, managing...

News: Sterling six months sees CAAM's assets surge.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy Assets under management at Credit Agricole Asset Management (CAAM) increased by 31.5 per cent to E520.4bn in the first six months of the year. Net inflows in the second quarter were E9bn, with total inflows of...

News in Brief: Hewitt bids for Nordic business with Swedish consultant.
September 11, 2006... Hewitt Associates is to enter a joint venture with Loneanalyser, one of Sweden's leading compensation consultancies, to form Hewitt Loneanalyser. The Nordic region has enjoyed considerable business growth in recent years, said Joakim Lundberg,...

News in Brief: Yiasoumi joins JPMorgan's Pensions Advisory Group.
September 11, 2006... JPMorgan has recruited Costas Yiasoumi to the new role of vice president of its Pension Advisory Group for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Mr Yiasoumi was previously a principal at Mercer Human Resource Consulting, where he worked as a...

News in Brief: F&C poaches Morgan Stanley's Zeitler for Geneva office.
September 11, 2006... F&C Asset Management it is to open a representative office in Geneva later this year and has poached Morgan Stanley Investment Management's Christian Zeitler to head up the operation. Mr Zeitler will join F&C in October. He will also become...

News in Brief: Aberdeen targets Nordic region.
September 11, 2006... Aberdeen Property Investors has launched a new fund for institutional investors interested in the Nordic region. Aberdeen Property Nordic Fund I Sicav is an open-ended fund, which has been especially designed to fit the German market. Target...

News: Two more join as BIAM continues recruitment run.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Chris Newlands Bank of Ireland Asset Management, the embattled Irish fund manager, which lost E800m in assets in the second quarter of this year, has made two further additions to its institutional investment team. Jamie Wood...

News: Bourdon to head up CSAM's pensions solutions group.
September 11, 2006... Credit Suisse has appointed Paul Bourdon as managing director and head of the European pension solutions group in its asset management business. In this new role within the recently created European pension solutions group, Mr Bourdon will...

News: People on the Move - Jones moves on from Morley after seven years' service.
September 11, 2006... Keith Jones has resigned from Morley Fund Management after seven years of service as the firm's CEO. Mr Jones will leave the company at the end of this year. He joined Norwich Union Investment Management as CEO in 1999 and was appointed CEO of...

News: People on the Move - Hewitt hires DC expert Foster for consultancy role.
September 11, 2006... Hewitt Associates has appointed John Foster to its recently established defined contribution (DC) consulting team. Mr Foster joins Hewitt from Prudential, and has spent more than 20 years advising public and private sector companies and...

News: People on the Move - Harris takes on Japanese equities at Standard Life.
September 11, 2006... Standard Life Investments has expanded its Japanese equities team with the appointment of Matt Harris as investment director, Japanese equities. Mr Harris joins the firm from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) where he was head of...

News: People on the Move - Meluish to push Gartmore global funds in new post.
September 11, 2006... Gartmore has appointed Simon Melluish to a new role in the global equities team. Mr Melluish will assume responsibility for orchestrating the sales and marketing activities surrounding the promotion of the successful Gartmore Sicav Global Focus...

News: People on the Move - Boheman promoted to head of SEB asset management.
September 11, 2006... Fredrik Boheman, executive vice president and currently head of SEB Germany, has been appointed new head of asset management. Mr Boheman will assume his new position on 1 October. Peter Buschbeck has been appointed as the new head of SEB...

News: People on the Move - Mannix to lead sales team at MPC investors.
September 11, 2006... MPC Investors has appointed Dan Mannix as head of sales. Mr Mannix joins the firm from JP Morgan Asset Management, where he was head of the wholesale channel within the UK since 2000. Mr Mannix will be responsible for leading MPC's sales...

News: People on the Move - Long-serving Keinanen given Evli asset management job.
September 11, 2006... Finland's Evli Bank has appointed Lea Keinanen as head of asset management. Ms Keinanen, who has a background in institutional investments and fixed income, joined Evli in 1993. For the past six years she has acted as the firm's head of private...

News: UK fund managers lead US on road to diversification.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Christine Senior European fund managers are more geographically diversified in their investments than their US counterparts, according to new research from Thomson Financial. European managers are narrowly overweight in EU...

News: Aegon signs up to Citigroup flexible platform which claims to allow multi-country processing.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Christine Senior Aegon in the Netherlands has teamed up with Citigroup Global Transaction Services to become the first user for Citigroup's new flexible investment platform. Citigroup claims this as the first service solution...

News: GSAM unveils 130/30 funds with Luxembourg wrapper.
September 11, 2006... Goldman Sachs Asset Management is launching a range of 130/30 funds, as part of its Flex range, which target similar excess returns to traditional high alpha funds, but with a lower volatility relative to the benchmark. The Flex process...

News Analysis: Improved funding fails to mask liabilities.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Christine Senior Funding of European corporate pension plans improved marginally in 2005, according to JPMorgan's Overview of European Corporate Pension Plans 2006. The funding status, based on projected benefit obligation,...

Comment: Leader - Onerous z-score may finally be out the door.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy, editor-in-chief The review of the z-score system for pension funds by the Dutch ministry of social affairs and labour could finally end the speculation over when and how the virtually obsolete performance measurement...

Comment: World View - Alternatives to avoid future oil slip-ups.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Klaudius Sobczyk Global tensions seem to go from bad to worse. Just as the war in southern Lebanon blows over and international efforts promise at least a short-term respite, more problems have appeared on the horizon. Iran...

Comment: Industry Voice - Demanding a level tax playing field.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Leonardo Sforza A breath of fresh air is coming from the European Court of Justice and the European Commission to blow away national tax authorities which perpetuate discriminatory practices on pension contributions. The...

Interview: Fortis Investments - Ambitions to expand product expertise.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy Now that a sale is off the agenda, Fortis Investments is concentrating on a five year plan to expand both in products and in geographical scope. Richard Wohanka, who will himself mark five years as Fortis Investments'...

Focus: US Corporate Governance - US starts to feel the power of shareholder activism.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Iain Morse It is a myth that UK and US corporate governance are even broadly similar. So warns Kerrie Waring, corporate governance manager at the Institute of Chartered Accountants (England & Wales) and author of recent ICAEW...

Fund Profile: Norske Shells Pensjonskasse - Shell clamped in by Norway's restrictive regulations.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik Rune Maele, fund manager at Norske Shells Pensjonskasse told epn that his fund's investment strategy is based on a handful of main principles. "We maintain a simplified and prudent investment strategy, which tries to...

Pensions Snapshot: Denmark.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik Over the first half of 2006, Danes have engaged in a lively debate about their country's future demographics and pensions. The United Nations estimates that the proportion of people aged 65 or over will increase...

News: Petroleum fund could invest in real estate following review.
September 25, 2006... The NKr1,505bn (E182.3bn) Government Pension Fund in Norway may soon be able to invest in real estate for the first time. The country's ministry of finance is in the midst of reviewing the fund's investment strategy, which is also likely to...

News: Institutional funds to bolster Fidelity multi-manager range.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy Fidelity is expanding its existing fettered multi-manager capabilities with a Luxembourg domiciled range of 12 unfettered Sicav funds. It also plans to launch a manager of managers capability for institutional...

News: Pharmacy fund gets right mix as architects build.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Reeta Cevik Farmakonomer, the E1.06bn pension fund for pharmacists, has for the second year running been rated as the best performing Danish pension and life insurance fund by Kirstein Finans Life and Pension study. In 2005...

News: Horeca & Catering takes first steps to private equity target.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Thomas Escritt Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering, the E2.3bn Dutch hospitality sector pension fund, has awarded a E40m private equity brief to Utrecht-based SPF Beheer and will be seeking further private equity mandates to reach its...

News: Van Essen leads PGGM adminstration shake-up.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy PGGM, the Dutch social sector pension fund, is considering a realignment of its investment and administration operations, which would also allow it more effectively market to supplementary pension savings and insurance...

News in Brief: Lack of information masks increase in carbon disclosure.
September 25, 2006... UK companies' reports to the Carbon Disclosure Project lack quantitative detail and are insufficiently standardised, a report by Trucost has found. The environmental research company found that while response rates were improving, companies...

News in Brief: CalPERS ponders commodities and energy allocations.
September 25, 2006... The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is considering investing in direct natural resources, commodities futures and related investments in energy, metals, agricultural products and other raw materials for the first time....

News in Brief: CAAM sees assets swell in first half of the year.
September 25, 2006... Assets under management at Credit Agricole Asset Management (CAAM) increased by 31.5 per cent to E520.4bn in the first six months of the year. Net inflows in the second quarter were E9bn, with total inflows of E31.7bn in the first six months....

News: CSAM product to target smaller fund diversification.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) is the latest European fund manager to launch a multi-asset or "new balanced" product to allow smaller pension funds to diversify their portfolios. It is also understood to be...

News: SWIP small cap deal signals AMF's first outsourcing foray.
September 25, 2006... AMF Pension, the Swedish pension insurer, has awarded a European small cap mandate to Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, in its first ever foray into outsourcing to external managers. AMF, with SKr 245bn (e26.5bn) in assets under...

News: People on the Move - LPFA handover completed as Taylor moves in.
September 25, 2006... Mike Taylor has taken the reins as chief executive of the London Pensions Fund Authority after being appointed earlier in the summer. Mr Taylor replaces Peter Scales, who will remain in place for several weeks to ensure a smooth handover. Mr...

News: People on the Move - Jorgensen hold the purse strings at Sampension.
September 25, 2006... Denmark's E12bn Sampension has appointed Hasse Jorgensen as its new finance director. Mr Jorgensen joins from the E27.2bn PFA Pension, where he was chief investment officer. Sampension manages labour market pension schemes and investment...

News: People on the Move - Dargnet seeks to looks to strengthen ties at BNPP AM.
September 25, 2006... BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) has appointed Christian Dargnat its new chief investment officer. Working from Paris, Mr Dargnat will be responsible for defining BNPP AM's investment policy and strengthening ties between the company's...

News: People on the Move - Small takes on big role at Deutsche consultant relations.
September 25, 2006... Susan Small is joining Deutsche Asset Management where she will be global head of consultant relations. Based in Chicago, Ms Small will work with consultants worldwide. She has worked in the consultant field for over 20 years, dealing with most...

News: People on the Move - Duo focus on UK relationships at Kas Bank.
September 25, 2006... Kas Bank, the specialist European securities bank, has appointed Marga Wenting and Petra Olsson as relationship managers on its institutional investors UK team. They will focus on relationship management with UK pension funds and insurance...

News: People on the Move - Parker takes on sales for UK and Ireland at Pioneer.
September 25, 2006... Kate Parker has joined Pioneer Investments where she will serve as institutional sales manager for the UK and Ireland. Ms Parker was formerly at HSBC, where she was new business development manager for institutional business. Her appointment...

News Analysis: Survey reveals gulf between product supply and demand.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy Taking a broad perspective on the institutional defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) investment industries, as well as the retail fund management industry, a new survey has highlighted some startling...

News Analysis: SRI assets surge, but are they really ethical?
September 25, 2006... Byline: Pirkko Juntunen Socially Responsible Investments (SRI) is slowly moving into the mainstream investment universe with the 'engagement' approach gaining ground fast. This broader segment of SRI has grown by 157 per cent in three...

Comment: Leader - Tell me what you want, what you really, really want.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Liam Kennedy, editor-in-chief What do institutional investors really, really want, as the Spice Girls might have put it, when it comes to asset classes and products? In order to avoid the ignominious fate of most of the members...

Comment: World View - Trouble brews as commodities falter.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Klaudius Sobczyk The recent ascent of commodity prices could prove to be a historic bubble in the making, particularly given recent losses. Obviously such bubbles are identified in hindsight, but strong gains in the CRB Commodity...

Comment: Industry Voice - Institutional looks for a bit of structure.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Noel Amenc Structured investment management is becoming an essential complement to traditional asset management, along with alternative investments, within the scope of institutional investment. Structured investment management...

Comment: Trustees thankful for what they have.
September 25, 2006... Pension scheme trustees must be a plucky bunch. That, or they are afflicted with a peculiar form of public-spirited masochism. For despite the growing weight of burdens piled on their slender shoulders over recent years, Mephisto is pleased to...

Focus: Hedge Funds - Appetite grows for hedge funds.
September 25, 2006... Single strategy, multi-strategy or fund of funds? According to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting, 13 per cent of Continental European pension funds and 7 per cent of UK pension funds are now taking up one or more of these...

Class Action: Making the effort to see firms in court.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Elizabeth Cripps Given the frequent depiction of the US as a 'litigation culture', it should come as no surprise to those on this side of the Atlantic that US institutional investors have been quick to use legal action to recoup...

Fund Profile: PKDW - PKDW looks to foreign shores for new opportunities.
September 25, 2006... The Pensionskasse der deutschen Wirtschaft (PKDW) reached a milestone last month when its membership passed the 60,000 mark. This followed an especially strong growth in participants of around 5 per cent in the years 2002 and 2003 after the...

Pensions: Snapshot - Iceland.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Stephen Bouvier Occupational pension schemes define Iceland's private-sector pension landscape. Under a tripartite agreement between labour unions, the Federation of Icelandic Employers and central government, Icelandic workers in...