US/JAPAN - Freezing defined benefits plans in the US and Japan and relying solely on a defined contribution plan fails to address risks, according to a working paper published by the Pension Research Council.

UK - The £465m London Borough of Waltham Forest Pension Fund has put its entire fund up for tender, after receiving advice to switch from multi-asset management to specialist management.

SCHRODERS has bought Aareal Asset Management in a bid to boost its international property offering for clients.

FORMER US vice president Al Gore is one of the key speakers at next year's National Association of Pension Funds investment conference.

NETHERLANDS - ABN AMRO is to sell part of the credit risk on its loan book to PGGM using a Collateralised Loan Obligation (CLO) structure.

Scheme members near retirement could lose out on revamped benefits because trustees are struggling to implement new legislative changes, experts claim.

BELGIUM - The demand for Liability Driven Investments (LDI) is unlikely to pick up in Belgium given its unsuitability to local pension funds, industry players have agreed.

UK - Global Pensions has won the award for Most Innovative Media Outlet in the 2006 State Street Institutional Press Awards, which recognise excellence in journalism.

TRUSTEE champion Brian Holden has urged firms to boost funding for trustees to enable them to carry out their duties properly.

FIJI - The Fiji National Provident Fund registered a 42.86% increase in its return on investments over 2006 and saw its income increase from F$168m (US$100m) to a record F$240m.