US - The Teachers' Retirement System of the state of Illinois (TRS) has axed three managers and placed several more on watch, including PIMCO, as it reviews its investment strategies ahead of an April asset allocation review.

UK - The £3.7bn (US$5.4bn) Merseyside Pension Fund has awarded a £110m European ex-UK equity mandate to Swiss asset manager Unigestion.

AUSTRALIA - Global Wealth Allocation (GWA) has established an Australian office, headed by Tony Sutton, to promote wealth weighted investment strategies in the Asia Pacific region.

IRELAND - Tens of thousands of workers took to the streets in Dublin on Saturday to protest about a proposed pension levy and the government's handling of the financial crisis.

UK - Several pension funds are considering making compensation claims or launching legal action against UK fund managers and advisers, Protiviti has claimed.

BAE 'quietly positive' on 2009 despite £500m needed to top up pension deficit; Defined contribution assets in £140bn hit; Defined contribution assets in £140bn hit; Pensions vs dividends; Government raid on pension funds to rescue schools building scheme...

TRUSTEES are turning away from online buyout auctions after becoming increasingly concerned about quality over price, insurers believe.

CHILE - The value of foreign investments of Chilean pension schemes posted in December 2008 a year-on-year decline of 37.9%, mainly due to asset values drops, Chilean pension watchdog Superintendencia de Pensiones has found.

LOCAL authority pension funds have may be approached as possible sources of capital to rebuild and renovate school buildings, Partnership for Schools (PfS) has confirmed.

US - The California Public Employees' Retirement System's (CalPERS) board of administration has re-elected Rob Feckner to a fifth term as the plan's president and George Diehr as its vice president for a second year.