VER's blog

Recent posts

2024-07-08 at 9:35  Timo Löyttyniemi
Clearly more innovations are made in the United States than in Europe. Several attempts have been made to respond to this situation. A wide range of initiatives have been launched to encourage innovation. As it is, US technological giants lead the...
2024-06-25 at 11:06  Timo Löyttyniemi
There is a consensus that it is desirable for people to keep working for longer. Work, at its best, has the power to bring us joy, raise revenue for the government and leave the pension system on a more sustainable footing. When people are able to...
2024-05-28 at 12:05  Timo Löyttyniemi
The approaching EU elections are more important than ever. There is a full-scale war on European soil, and Europe is facing hybrid threats on a daily basis. One European state is defending the whole of Europe while another is attacking the...
2024-05-16 at 10:38  Timo Löyttyniemi
The green transition presents a major global challenge, which has recently been aggravated by a number of new obstacles. Geopolitics has affected policy-makers’ priorities, high interest rates are creating uncertainty among investors, and global...
2024-04-11 at 13:25  Timo Löyttyniemi
Geopolitics has changed for decades to come. A global division of states into separate camps is underway, coupled with the rise of the defence industry around the world. For Europe and Finland, this transition offers a major opportunity to expand...
2024-03-14 at 14:19  Timo Löyttyniemi
For a long time now, investors have been keen to increase investments in private markets outside stock-exchange markets. The trend held up until 2022. As the values of listed equities and debt securities plummeted in 2022, many institutional...
2024-03-08 at 13:24  Timo Löyttyniemi
Investors are waiting and hoping for interest rates to fall in Europe. Underlying these expectations are the decreasing inflation figures that are approaching the regular 2% mark. The latest published consumer inflation rate was 2.6%. This is...
2024-01-26 at 11:55  Timo Löyttyniemi
Whatever central banks say has an impact. Their communications and statements are needed because there is a lot of confidence in central banks. In the latest Bank of America survey, institutional investors were reported as saying that by far the...
2023-12-14 at 11:02  Timo Löyttyniemi
The themes for 2024 are largely the same as for 2023, primarily geopolitics and monetary policy, followed by a weakening economy. At least as far as geopolitics is concerned, 2024 could well be described as the “year of solutions”. As the list ...
2023-11-24 at 11:18  Timo Löyttyniemi
The Dutch pension system is being completely overhauled. The Mercer Global Pension Index ranked the Dutch pension system as the best in the world in its October report this year. Nevertheless, the system will be completely overhauled. T...
2023-10-11 at 12:50  Timo Löyttyniemi
A pension investor is called upon to make several assumptions. They are necessary at the system-wide level, for investment activities as well as for determining pension liabilities. What are the key assumptions for a pension investor? Wh...
2023-10-06 at 12:19  Timo Löyttyniemi
The efforts to develop any pension system are very much path-dependent. The starting point is the current state of the system, which determines the options available for developing it. However, it makes sense to examine the big pictur...
2023-09-21 at 13:58  Timo Löyttyniemi
It is a time of change in geopolitics. Many things drive economies and economic systems apart. Globalisation, and in particular financial globalisation, is taking a step backwards. Similarly, technological development, production and technologic...
2023-06-28 at 14:37  
The real estate market plays a major role in the economy. The long period of low interest rates has pushed up property prices and also enabled brisk new construction. However, the real estate market is now in a state of flux, with several factors...
2023-05-16 at 11:13  Timo Löyttyniemi
Interest rates are now at normal levels and this makes for a new investment environment. If there is one good thing to come out of inflation, it is the normalisation of interest rates.  The changes are considerable. The leap in the interest...
2023-03-29 at 11:35  Timo Löyttyniemi
A crisis needs a fitting name. The financial markets are struggling with problems that make it necessary for governments and central banks to step in. The current situation meets the criteria for financial instability. We should find a descriptive...
2023-03-29 at 11:07  
In recent weeks, we have received news of crises threatening a number of banks. People wonder if this means a new banking crisis or if it is just a crisis affecting a few banks. After all, there is a big difference between the two. Is there cause...
2023-03-03 at 7:40  Timo Löyttyniemi
Governments are increasingly trying to outdo other countries by pursuing an active industrial policy. It appears that faith in the power of industrial policy is making a comeback. The doctrines of a pure, free market economy and free trade take a...
2023-02-02 at 15:41  Timo Löyttyniemi
The US stock markets have long been a favourite of investors who have been attracted by hefty returns. Another factor boosting investor interest has been the strengthening US dollar. But something new is happening right now. In recent weeks, there...
2022-12-15 at 16:36  Timo Löyttyniemi
The past few years have been marked by a series of unexpected crises. Covid-19 set in quickly without warning, shaking up economies and business as usual in 2020 and translating the risk of a pandemic into reality. Just when we were recovering...
1
...
3
Next Last

Recent posts

Tags

acceleration active investing added value AI alternative investments asset classes austerity measures authoritarian governments baby boom baseline capitalism carbon border tax carbon emissions carbon footprint carbon intensity carbon neutrality carbon risk carbon tax carbon-neutral economy carbon-neutrality career central banks circular economy climate change climate commitments climate crisis CO2 emissions collateral commercial paper market commodities concentrated markets contingency plan contrarian corona crisis coronavirus coronavirus crisis countermeasures covid crisis covid economy crises crisis crypto currencies currencies debt burden debt structures decision-making defence industry defence policy defence technology democracy demographic trends demography dependency ratio depression derivatives development digital money digitalisation dilution disease monitoring system diversification ECB economic competition economic development economic growth economic policy economic system economy effective treatment electricity exchanges emergency measures employment figures energy export energy exports energy imports energy prices energy war environmental policy equity market equity markets escalation ESG EU EU elections euribor exchange rates expected returns external borrowing FAAMG Fed financial crisis financial market financial markets financial stability Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) fiscal policy fixed income investments fixed-income investments forecasting fossil fuels free trade funding ratio funds geopolitics global trade globalisation globalization government debt government finances green technology green transition growth healthcare systems hedge funds illiquid assets increase in prices indebtedness index investing index weighting indices inflation Innovations institutional investor institutional investors interest level interest rate interest rate level interest rates internal market international trade investment investment beliefs investment environment investment returns investment risk investments investments contribution approach level of risk liberalism long-term return low-carbon economy market crash market economy market forces market interest rate market movements market portfolio market rallies market reaction megatrends miracle momentum monetary policy ownership policy pandemic pension investments pension investors pension liability pension promise pension system pension systems planning political decision-making portfolio structure positive side effect predatory traders pre-funding preparedness presidential elections price fall private equity private markets protectionism real estate investment real estate investments real estate market real estate sector recession regulation renewable energy renewable natural resources rescue packages responsibility restrictions retirement retirement age returns on investments risk bearer risk level risk management risk profile Russia sanctions scenarios security investments short squeeze sovereign debt spill-over effect stagflation state state ownership stimulation stimulation packages stock exchange stock market stock markets stock prices stock-exchange markets stocks strategic allocation strategic autonomy strategy success support measures supportive actions sustainability target retirement age taxation technology the leading powers timeframe for liabilities timing totalitarianism transition risk uncertainty venture capital virus war war of aggression welfare state