UK - Consultancy firm ORTEC has confirmed moves to strengthen its presence in the UK, with the appointment of Andrew Slater as managing director of the UK office.

GLOBAL - Several US exchange traded funds (ETFs) providers are considering listing their products in Europe, due to a more flexible regulatory environment, a ETFs expert has claimed.

ITALY - Pension watchdog COVIP has intensified its supervisory activity after negative investment results were posted by the majority of Italian schemes.

UK - Average trustee salaries are increasing as the role becomes more onerous but a third of pension funds are still finding it difficult to recruit, research shows.

UK - Pension funds looking to invest in hedge funds should hold off until there is greater stability and current redemptions play their way through the system, Watson Wyatt warns.

The founder member of the Occupational Pensions Advisory Service Margaret Grainger has died.

EUROPE - European pension funds no longer manage risk, they manage uncertainty, Create Research chief executive Amin Rajan says.

Schemes hike rates for trustee chairmen; Schemes selling equities to meet cash needs

A clear link between financial capability and wellbeing has been identified by Financial Services Authority research unveiled at the Life Academy 2008 annual lecture.

North Yorkshire County Council has appointed Fidelity International to manage an overseas equity portfolio for its pension fund.