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Net worth of Dutch investment funds decreases further
The net worth of supervised Dutch investment funds fell by €6.4bn (eight per cent) in the third quarter of 2008 (Q3 2008), with De Nederlandsche Bank attributing losses to investment write-downs and net withdrawals by investors. Equity price falls of 11 per cent, which were in line with the worldwide drop in equity prices of 12 per cent, according to the MSCI World Index, was the ...
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Dutch pension funds receive €4.9bn in dividends over 11 months
Between April 2007 and March 2008, Dutch pension funds are reported as having received €4.9bn in dividends on quoted shares, according to De Nederlandsche Bank. Pension fund holdings of these quoted shares averaged at €195bn in that period, which excluded quoted shares held through mutual funds. The Bank said that dividend income is used for two things, either as a major ...
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AEGON continues international expansion
Financial services organisation AEGON has entered into a partnership with Catalan-based savings bank Caixa Terrassa Vida, which will distribute AEGON life insurance, pension and health products through its network of almost 300 bank branches. AEGON has bought a 50 per cent stake in the Spanish bank’s life insurance and pension unit for €190 million. The partnership with ...
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Netherlands streets ahead in use of Liability Driven Investment
Sixty-one per cent of Dutch pension funds are currently employing a Liability Driven Investment (LDI) strategy, an increase of 18 per cent on last year’s figures. Fiduciary manager SEI revealed the results of a Global Quick Poll of the global pension fund space, surveying executives overseeing pensions in the US, UK, Hong Kong, Canada and the Netherlands. There was also an ...
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AEGON reports strong Q2 performance
AEGON has reported solid business performance and a strong capital position as part of it Q2 2008 results, in spite of recent market turmoil. Specific to the European pensions market, the firm experienced strong growth in group pension sales in the Netherlands – where AEGON already has a 25 per cent market share - which included the sale of one large contract, while renewal rates ...
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Slight growth in Dutch mutual funds
Dutch mutual funds expanded their share in Dutch household investments from 54 per cent to 55 per cent in the first quarter 2008, according to De Nederlandsche Bank. The Bank said the increase may be a turnaround in a declining trend, and sees the various measures taken since 2006 to improve the business climate for mutual funds in the Netherlands as beginning to take effect. However, ...
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AEGON releases €315million in securitisation transaction
AEGON has completed a €315million securitisation transaction to improve capital efficiency and optimise their capital structure as part of the group’s new strategy. The transaction adds the equivalent of around £250million of core capital, enhancing the financial flexibility of the group and improving the return on capital deployed in the UK. The move forms part of ...
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AEGON moves further into Eastern Europe
AEGON has further cemented its presence in Central and Eastern Europe with the acquisition of the Turkish life insurance and pension provider Ankara Emeklilik. The acquisition marks AEGON’s first step into the Turkish market, and is marketed as part of a broader strategy to build scale in emerging markets. The firm agreed to buy Ankara Emeklilik in February 2008, and AEGON also has ...
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Dutch pension liabilities fall
The value of the Dutch pension funds’ technical provisions stood at approximately €493bn at year-end 2007, a drop in liabilities of €14bn, according to De Nederlandsche Bank. Pension funds calculate these technical provisions in order to estimate what they are required to pay to future pensioners, and the size of this is dependent on factors such as capital market rates ...
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AEGON expands on Eastern European presence
AEGON Hungary Pension Fund is set to merge with UNIQA and Public Service Pension Fund in an attempt to further strengthen AEGON’s presence in the ever-developing pensions market across Central and Eastern ...
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Dutch metal pension funds launch joint in SRI policy
The two Dutch pension funds for the metal industry, the €33bn Pensioenfonds Metaalelektro (PMT) and the €21.5bn Pensioenfonds Metaal en Techniek (PME), have launched a joint social responsible investment policy. In conjunction with asset manager and pension provider Mn Services, jointly owned by PME and PMT, the two funds have drawn eight lead principles from international ...
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AEGON builds on first quarter success with Poland merger approval
AEGON, the life insurance and pensions company, has reported a nine per cent rise in underlying earnings before tax in its first quarter 2008 report. The report shows that operating earnings and net income has been affected by the recent instability of the world financial markets, but AEGON has reported no significant impairments. AEGON has also reiterated its confidence in meeting its ...
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Holland must do more to promote itself as pooling hub
Holland must do more to promote itself as a centre for international asset pooling, says a new report from the Netherlands, while also preserving the strength of the Dutch pensions ...
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Dutch financial confidence knocked by sub-prime crisis
Financial stability in the Netherlands is less favourable than it was six months ago, according to the DNB’s most recent assessment of the region. The Overview of Financial Stability (OFS), published by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), highlighted a recent period in the market when, triggered by the crisis in the US sub-prime mortgage market, liquidity evaporated in various credit ...
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Leading Dutch funds allocate €500m to clean technology
ABP and PGGM have re-inforced their commitment to sustainable investment with a joint mandate to invest in innovative, clean technology. The two largest pension funds in the Netherlands have appointed AlpInvest* to invest €500 million in innovative, clean technology in one of the largest mandates ever to be placed on the international private equity market. This is the first time ...
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Aegon enhances CEE prescence
AEGON has made further moves to bolster its presence in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) marketplace. Following its acquisition of PTE Ergo Hestia earlier this year, AEGON and BRE Bank have entered into exclusive negotiations on a possible merger of their two Polish pension funds, PTE Ergo Hestia SA and PTE Skarbiec-Emerytura SA. As part of the discussions, BRE Bank would grant AEGON ...
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Dutch funds respond to SRI embarrassment
Dutch pension funds have been shamed into smartening up their investment decisions after a current affairs TV programme in the Netherlands revealed that two of the largest funds were investing in US firms that produce cluster bombs and landmines. Dutch pension fund PGGM, the pension fund for the healthcare and social work sector, has since announced that it has stopped investing in these ...
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Dutch fund returns down says WM
Average returns for Dutch Pension funds in 2006 halved - from 14.8% in 2005 to 7.4% in 2006 – according to new performance figures by WM Performance Services (WM). Taking into account the consumer price index, which rose by 1.4%, this represents a real return of 5.9%, which is above the 10-year annualised real universe return of 5.2%, says the investment performance measurement ...
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US film and television giant Netflix confirms Dutch market entry
American film and internet television giant Netflix on Wednesday confirmed plans to enter the Dutch market 'before the end of this year'. The company, producer of series such as House of Cards and Arrested Development, did not give any details about what programming would be available to Dutch consumers or possible prices. It did say Dutch users with broadband internet access would ...
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Netflix streaming heads to the Netherlands in late 2013
(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET) Netflix streaming is heading to the Netherlands, the company announced on Wednesday. ...
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Shell Oil Presses Supreme Court to Deprive Torture Victims of Justice
Bashe Yousuf, a torture victim from Somalia, was among plaintiffs who won a $21 million lawsuit against his Somali torturer in Federal Court. WASHINGTON-Will victims of distant genocides and crimes against humanity be allowed to continue using U. S. courts to seek justice against their persecutors, as well as the individuals and corporations that helped facilitate human rights violations across ...
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Elsevier Launches Open Access Journal GeoResJ
Elsevier , a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce the launch of a new open access journal, GeoResJ. With the launch of GeoResJ, Elsevier's earth and planetary science journals portfolio has its first open access only journal. The journal aims to provide a forum for rapid publication of top research within the ...
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Dutch scramble to save four trapped in manure silo
Dutch emergency services scrambled Wednesday to save four people who fell into a manure silo in the north of the country, police said."Regional emergency declared in Makkingawhere four people are trapped and unconscious in a manure silo," police in the northern Friesland region tweeted.Dutch media reported that helicopters and emergency divers had been scrambled to the scene of the ...
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New Dutch super-computer unveiled in Amsterdam
The State Secretary notes that Cartesius could profit the Netherlands both academically and financially: "Cartesius enables our scientists to achieve important new scientific insights, and can help to force ...
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The Netherlands will veto EU sanctions over Israeli settlements minister
The Netherlands will veto any moves by the European Union to impose sanctions if Israel presses ahead with building settlements on disputed territory east of Jerusalem, foreign minister Frans Timmermans is quoted as saying by news agency ANP. Timmermans said sanctions are not 'currently on the agenda'. The minister has had meetings with Israeli and Palestinian representatives over the ...
Amsterdam in Focus
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Amsterdam and the Clash of Civilisations: is this city on the frontline?
There is a polarising pattern of insult and violence going round and round in Europe, and Amsterdam seems to be one of the cities leading the continent down the spiral toward a culture of intolerance toward everyone who isn't European.
The Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks is frequently in the media for his decisively controversial cartoons that seem to unremittingly try and provoke the Islamic communities across Europe. Just this week alone he was the target of two separate assassination plots that were to be carried out, interestingly, by two women who had converted to the religion he vilifies. Read more
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