The Netherlands’ UWV battles to regain funding

The funding crisis that hit pension funds across the world may be easing – in common with the five-year long economic crisis – but restoring healthy funding levels remains a vital priority for many investors. The Netherlands’ €4.9-billion ($6.6-billion) UWV pension fund is one of that number. A funding ratio of 98.7 per cent at … Read more

The diminishing role of agents

I’ve always been frustrated by interviewing consultants and the lack of conviction they have about their decisions. “What would your ideal model portfolio look like?” I constantly ask. “It depends on the client” is the predictable and consistent answer. That may be valid, even true, but it speaks to a wider problem. Consultants are hired … Read more

Push the reset button at PRI in Person

At the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment conference Cape Town on October 1, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation Sharan Burrow delivered a speech entitled Push the Reset Button – a Line Between Speculation and Investment. She discussed the stability of the global economy, the necessity for investors to shift to long-term … Read more

Pulling lots of small levers in Tennessee

Michael Brakebill had never visited Nashville, Tennessee before he interviewed for the role of chief investment officer at the $36.6-billion Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) back in 2008. Landing the job at the defined benefit scheme for Tennessee’s public sector workers, he left his position as head of domestic equity at Texas’ Teachers Retirement System … Read more

OECD leads global infrastructure push

The OECD seeks to lengthen the time horizons of investors and get institutional money flowing from across the world into infrastructure gaps.

UK watchdog lambasts pension fees

A scathing report into the United Kingdom’s £275-billion ($441-billion) defined contribution pension sector by national watchdog the Office of Fair Trading that lambasts high charges and complexity could have gone further say modern, low-cost pension providers. The OFT has agreed a range of reforms to the workplace pension market after its study found millions of … Read more