How do pension fund trustees deal with demographic and economic shocks? We examine this issue by using a vignette study among pension fund trustees in the Netherlands. Trustees show asymmetric reactions to shocks in the level of reserves of pension funds. Pension premiums are upwardly flexible...

This paper addresses the implementation of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) in the investment process. SRI covers a broad range of investment strategies, with different implications for the role of trustees and portfolio managers. We argue that a clear distinction needs to be made between...

AlpInvest was created in 1999 as a joint venture between Dutch pension funds ABP and PGGM to create a strong platform for their private equity investments This case study examines the strategic rationale for setting up this private equity joint venture, and evaluates the pros and cons. We...

We investigate the building blocks for institutional investors' successful investment strategies. We focus on organizations which formulate investment beliefs and define clear views on how the capital markets work. We present the results of a world wide survey of investment beliefs. We find...

This paper addresses the implementation of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) in the investment process. We argue that a clear distinction needs to be made between (1) ethical based, (2) investment driven and value-ensuring objectives in SRI. This distinction enables trustees and investors to...

If Dutch consumers had the opportunity to design pension deals to meet their needs, what sort of pension deals would emerge? What do employers, regulators, and supervisors want to achieve? This paper places the consumer at the centre of the pension system, analyzing trends and determining what...

We investigate the impact of internationalization of banks on their performance. Using a novel data set comprising of the world's 46 largest banks spanning 1980-2004, we find that internationalization decreases performance measures as return-on assets or return-on-sales. That negative effect is...