IPE

Die falsche Reform

By in BVG-Reform Tags:

imageBarbara Ottawa hat am Vorsorge-Symposium die Diskussion um die BVG-Reform verfolgt und Stimmen aus des PK-Szene gesammelt. In der IPE-Dach schreibt sie:

Bei einer hitzigen Panel-Diskussion beim Symposium Zweite Säule, das jährlich vom Fachverlag vps.epas organisiert wird, zeigten sich die üblichen Gräben zwischen Arbeitgeber- und Gewerkschaftsvertretung.
Aber am Rande der Messe erläuterte ein Vertreter einer Pensionskasse mit 28 Mrd. Schweizer Franken (knapp 29 Mrd. Euro) AuM, warum auch er und andere aus der Branche gegen die Reform sind.

Bei seiner eigenen PK wären von den Änderungen im Umwandlungssatz weniger als 0,01% der Berechtigten betroffen. Die Ausgleichszahlungen für die Übergangsgenerationen, die allerdings zu einem Großteil vom Staat getragen würden, würden jedoch in die Milliarden Schweizer Franken gehen.

Tatsächlich sind drei Viertel der Schweizer derzeit bereits in Kassen versichert, die es sich leisten können, den Umwandlungssatz auf Leistungen der Arbeitgeber, die über das BVG-Minimum hinausgehen, an den aktuellen Zinssatz für aktiv Sparende anzugleichen – also teilweise 3% oder sogar weniger. Aus dem Durchschnitt mit dem obligatorischen Satz ergibt sich somit ein faktischer sogenannter „umhüllender Umwandlungssatz“ von rund 5% im Durchschnitt der Kassen.

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Dutch pension funds made 9.5% return on average in 2023

By in International Tags: ,

ipe(IPE) Dutch pension funds made an average return of 9.5% after costs in 2023, according to calculations by consultancy Bell. Two small company schemes that invest heavily in equities reported the best performance.

Bell based its conclusions on returns data of 177 pension funds that were published last month by pension regulator DNB. Though all pension funds reported positive returns, these ranged from 1.5% to 17.7%. Pension funds recovered somewhat from a disastrous 2022, when they made an average return of -23.3%.

Total pension assets under management in the Netherlands also increased, from €1.44bn at the end of 2022 to €1.57bn by the end of last year. But this is still quite some way off the record of over €1.8bn reached at the end of 2021.

The five largest pension funds all underperformed the 9.5% average, as these funds invest relatively more in unlisted assets, which posted rather meagre returns last year.

  IPE

Swiss pension funds increase equity, cut real estate investments

By in Kapitalanlagen Tags:

ipe(IPE) Swiss pension funds are looking at equity investments this year with slightly renewed optimist, remaining cautious, however, on bonds, and cutting down on real estate allocations. A strong equity market performance, especially from US tech stocks, led Swiss pension funds to record average returns of 3.7%, as of the end of August 2023, from -9% recorded at the end of last year, according to the latest data from Complementa’s risk check-up.

“As a consequence, the equity quota [in portfolios] has increased more than 1 percentage point compared to the end of last year, and on average stands at around 31%. The bonds [allocation] has remained on average fairly stable at above 31%,” said Andreas Rothacher, senior investment consultant at Complementa.

Last year, Pensionskassen invested 31.7% of their assets in fixed income, 29.5% in equities, 24% in real estate, and 10.1% in alternative investments, while 4.6% was in cash, the study added. The share of real estate estate investments has instead decreased this year to close to 23% as of end of August, according to Complementa’s research. The high allocation to propertty last year was a key driver to slowing down further investments in the asset class this year, Rothacher explained.

  IPE

PK-Manor: A large and long-term allocation in alternatives

By in Medien, Pensionskassen Tags:

imageMartin Roth, CEO of Pensionskasse Manor, talks to Carlo Svaluto Moreolo (IPE) about the fund’s diversification strategy and long track record in alternatives. Excerpts:

The fund has achieved a high level of diversification and has been among the best-performing Swiss pension funds in recent years, according to Roth. This is partly thanks to a large and long-term allocation to alternatives.

Roth says: “We started with a small allocation in 1999 and grew comfortable year by year. In terms of hedge funds, we started with an allocation to a single multi-strategy fund of funds, and slowly developed it into a dedicated allocation to different funds focusing on different management styles. Three years ago, we made the step towards single hedge funds, and today we invest around 52% of the portfolio into single hedge funds and the rest in six specialised fund of funds.” 

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Swiss schemes pushed to adopt riskier strategies

By in Kapitalanlagen, Medien Tags:

ipeSwiss pension funds will need to pursue riskier investment strategies in a hunt for higher returns in a prolonged period of low interest rates and amid the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Hunting for yield is costlier and harder to do for pension funds, as for other investors,” Jackie Bauer, head of retirement and public policy research at UBS, told IPE.

The occupational pension scheme Stiftung Auffangeinrichtung BVG said in a statement that negative interest rates cause long-term damage to savings – placing pension funds at a crossroads that may lead to making choices with uncertain outcomes, it said.

“A specific savings target can only be achieved by taking higher risks, otherwise the savings target must be reduced or financed through higher savings contributions,” the institution added.

  IPE

Publica to increase stake in firms with renewable energy ‘high-quality patents’

By in Kapitalanlagen, Medien, Öffentliche Kassen Tags: , ,

Publica, Switzerland’s largest pension fund, plans to overweight its portfolio in companies with “promising and high-quality patents” in the renewable energy sector against other companies, based on its climate efficient equity index, deputy chief investment officer Patrick Uelfeti told IPE.

A recently developed MSCI index takes into account expected tax costs on CO2 emissions over a period of 30 years against the market capitalization of a company, patents for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and costs caused by climate change on business operations.

“The patents are classified and evaluated according to their relevance and their market potential,” Uelfeti added.

In its report on climate-related opportunities and risks for 2019, Publica said it excluded investing in the coal sector, preferring renewable energies, wind farms or photovoltaic systems, through a strategic asset allocation of 3.5%.

  IPE

COVID-19 makes Swiss pension reform increasingly urgent

By in BVG-Reform, Medien Tags: ,

The recent decline of pension funds assets, which has been caused by the COVID-19 crisis, makes for a reform of Switzerland’s occupational pensions even more urgent, the managing director of the employers association Schweizerische Arbeitgeberverband, Roland Müller, told IPE.

The Swiss Employers’ Association expects the Federal Council to submit its message to parliament as soon as its operations resume back to normal, he said.(…)

“The extension of the deadline will not affect our position,” he said, adding that social partner compromise has broad support from the association’s members.

For Sergio Bortolin, managing director of Aska Pensionskasse, an occupational pensions reform is inevitable due to demographic developments, the ongoing low interest rate environment, and other social changes.

“The redistribution from actively insured persons to pensioners must be reduced to an acceptable level,” he added.

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IPE Awards: ATP is Europe’s best pension fund

By in International, Medien Tags:

image

ATP (Denmark) was named European Pension Fund of the Year at last night’s IPE Awards dinner in Copenhagen.

The top prize was one of six awards scooped by Denmark’s biggest pension fund, including for Long-Term Investment Strategy, another gold award category.

The DKK 934bn (€105bn) investor was also recognised for its work in emerging markets and innovation.

Accepting the main award, Bo Foged (pictured far right above) said, “I didn’t expect to receive this prize, but thank you to the jury and the audience and also the team at ATP who worked really hard this year.”

  IPE

Big falls in management fees across some asset classes

By in International, Kapitalanlagen Tags:

imageThere have been substantial reductions in external manager fees for asset classes including global equities, emerging market equities and hedge funds, according to new research from bfinance.

Fee compression has been driven by factors including the rise of cheaper competitors, increasing transparency on costs, and expansion of the manager universe, said the research paper. Figures were based on real fees being quoted by asset managers for real mandates, and not surveys or “rack rates”, which bfinance said tend to be inflated.

According to the consultancy, for active global equity mandates fees have fallen by 7% since 2013 and 4% since 2016. Median quoted fees for a US$100m (€90m) mandate currently sit at 55 basis points (bps), with reductions particularly notable for the lower quartile, where fees have fallen from 51bps in 2013 to 46bps in 2016 and 42bps in 2019.

Larger fee reductions are seen in global emerging market equities, with fees down 13% since 2013 and 6% since 2016. The median quoted fee for a US$100m mandate is now around 74bps, with considerable scope for downward negotiation, according to bfinance.

  IPE / bfinance

BVK targets responsible investment leadership

By in Medien, Öffentliche Kassen Tags: ,

The CHF33bn (€29.5bn) pension fund for the canton of Zurich wants to set the responsible investment benchmark for Swiss pension funds when it comes to quality of implementation and communicating measures taken.

This is according to one of 10 principles that BVK – Switzerland’s third largest pension fund by assets under management – has adopted for its approach to responsible investment, which it said was an integral part of risk management.

Also among BVK’s 10 principles was a statement that focusing on efficient processes, transparent structures and low costs had a place in responsible investment.

BVK also clearly stated that responsible investment could conflict with return goals, and that in such a situation it would prioritise long-term return optimisation.

  IPE

IPE: Guest Viewpoint von Beat Zaugg

By in Kapitalanlagen, Medien Tags: ,

imageIn der IPE hat Beat Zaugg, CFA, die Bedeutung nachhaltiger Anlagen in der Schweiz in einem Gastbeitrag ausgeleuchtet.

Swiss pension funds will be also influenced by developments in the EU, such as the EU taxonomy, MIFiD regulation and reporting standards set by specialist bodies. The race among countries to lead the drive into sustainable finance has been relaunched. Swiss asset managers, service providers, academics and pension funds look set to demonstrate high quality and innovation in sustainable investment solutions. Two characteristics Switzerland is already famous for in many other sectors.

  IPE

IPE: Pension tech for dummies

By in Medien, PK-Verwaltung Tags:

There is no shortage of new technologies that can improve retirement outcomes for pension fund members

Key points

  • Blockchain and machine learning dominate the discussion
  • These are complex technologies in an early stage of adoption 
  • Real time data analytics and common platforms are already operational and can save time and money
  • The adoption of new technologies is critical to engagement

When it comes to technological innovation in pensions the two buzzwords are blockchain and artificial intelligence. Blockchain is potentially a revolutionary technology that could significantly reduce the costs associated with pension administration and custody. Artificial intelligence – or more specifically machine learning tools – also promises to optimise many areas of the industry. They could be used to improve communications with pension fund members or to deliver better investment returns.

  IPE

ESG: Still the ugly duckling

By in Kapitalanlagen, Medien Tags: ,

ESG (environmental, social and governance) is still an unpopular investment strategy in Switzerland. How will it overcome this lack of enthusiasm? asks Gail Moss in IPE.

“There is still uncertainty about returns from ESG stocks,” says Peter Zanella, senior director at Willis Towers Watson Switzerland. “In my opinion there is not a clear picture that ESG returns are at least as good as returns from ‘normal’ stocks. And studies show that so-called ‘sin stocks’ are doing very well. As a company, we currently do not actively float ESG ideas.”

Thierry Bertheau, head of institutional client relations at, Robeco Switzerland, says: “It is steadily gaining awareness. But one hurdle to overcome is the lack of understanding, as well as clear definitions and standards. This could be helped by continuous education and insights. Another frequently mentioned reason is the focus on other priorities, such as funding ratios or performance.”

For those pension funds without access to sophisticated screening systems, a readily available list of possible stocks to be excluded is provided by SVVK ASIR (Swiss Association for Responsible Investments).

Many different ESG approaches are offered by asset managers, from standard benchmark-based exclusions to best-in-class or thematic investments.

But engagement is another way to tackle the issue.

  IPE

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