A LACK of transparent information is making it difficult for trustees to assess where the underlying investment risk lies within their portfolios, Horwath Clark Whitehill research reveals.

EUROPE - The presence of private pension funds on financial markets plays an important stabilising role in the financial system as a whole, according to Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, member of the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB).

Including: GLOBAL - State Street Confidence Index falls; FRANCE - Lehman Anti-Benchmark team becomes TOBAM; EUROPE - ETF market surged in October

GLOBAL - French employers currently have no incentive to voluntarily offer defined benefit (DB) schemes to their employees, the director general of the French association of asset managers has said.

US - A new tier of retirement savings must take into account market and interest volatility to be effective, researchers at the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College have said.

AUSTRALIA - The Government has taken more action to strengthen its markets against abusive and manipulative trading techniques, with an indepth review of practices.

INDIA - Employees of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are to stage a mass casual leave at the beginning of December, calling for restoration of pension arrangements for retired employees.

Early access to funds in pension schemes could boost retirement income by a third, a Pensions Policy Institute report claims.

AUSTRALIA - Senator Nick Sherry, minister for superannuation and corporate law has formally launched the Capital Markets Co-operative Research Centre, designed to focus on market manipulation and fraud.

UK - Early access to funds in pension schemes could boost retirement income by a third, a Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) report claims.