France: Little Room for Investors to Manoeuver

Low return expectations present good reason for investment decision-makers to reshape their portfolio entirely. The new government's decision to lower the legal retirement age to 60 for some workers also creates real challenges to underfunded pensions.

However, investors remain well aware of regulatory constraints on their investment strategies. Insurers will have to comply with Solvency II by 2013. So too will many French occupational pension funds given that they are legally insurance entities.