AUSTRALIA - The Association of Superannuation funds of Australia (ASFA), has criticised the Government's one-off payment into superannuation accounts as a missed opportunity to change future savings behaviour.

UK - Independent institutional fund manager Hermes, whose largest client is the BT Pension Scheme (BTPS), has reportedly asked Prudential to contemplate a break-up.

THE PENSIONS Action Group has told the department for work and pensions it will judicially review the recent decision to extend the financial assistance scheme.

GLOBAL - A report from specialist hedge fund consultancy, Liability Solutions, found hedge fund replication techniques underperformed fund of hedge funds net of fees.

Boots pension trustees seek £1bn; Key regions help pull ICI up 12pc; Lord Browne looks to the future in first public speech since resignation

US - A new investment threshold set by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has reportedly stopped the fund from directly investing in Israeli venture capital portfolios.

RCM and Royal London Asset Management have won combined mandates of £300m from the London Borough of Ealing.

DENMARK - Denmark's largest pension fund, ATP, has posted bumper Q1 investment returns of DKK5.4bn (US$985m) before tax, with listed domestic equities.

UK - The Surrey Pension Fund has issued a mandate seeking a global equity and currency manager.

THE FORMER Boots pension schemes rose £20m into surplus during the past financial year, preliminary company results reveal.