ASIA - Threadneedle has appointed Raymundo Yu to the newly created position of Asia Pacific chairman.

US - The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has bought the rights to portfolio construction software to implement across its hedge fund and equity portfolios.

ASIA - Some 86% of Asia-Pacific fund managers believe the introduction of an investment passport is important for the region, research shows.

JAPAN/US - New York-based hedge fund AIFAM aims to boost the assets in its catastrophe bond fund by five times to $150m over the next year with Japanese pension money.

UK - Risk transfer deals are expected to be well in excess of £1bn ($1.6bn)in the fourth quarter on the back of improved market conditions and indexation changes, industry experts say.

US - The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has refused to pay pensions based on recent compensation set for a number of City of Bell employees.

PwC; Mercer; SWIP; Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec; Aviva Investors; Canada Life Investments; HSBC

Plans by the European Union to introduce Solvency II rules to the pensions industry run the risk of undermining pension provision rather than strengthening it, industry bodies have warned.

EUROPE - Plans by the European Union to introduce Solvency II rules to the pensions industry run the risk of undermining pension provision rather than strengthening it, industry bodies have warned.

MEXICO - Mexico may allow pension funds, the nation's biggest institutional investors, to tap global commodities that are trading at near two-year highs.