US - Shell has agreed in principle to settle a long running class action suit with two US pension funds, in a deal that will cost the firm at least US$80m.

SPAIN - BBVA Fondo de Empleo has announced it will invest 5% of its pension fund assets into alternatives.

MEASURES to increase the level of payments by the Financial Assistance Scheme are to be fast-tracked, minister for pensions reform Mike O'Brien announced today.

US - The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has appeared before two Congressional Subcommittees in Washington to argue against CPPIB being lumped together with sovereign wealth funds.

THE National Association of Pension Funds has launched a toolkit in a bid to help trustees assess the performance of investment consultancies.

NEW ZEALAND - Lower than forecast returns for the New Zealand Super Fund contributed to the country's operating balance showing a deficit at the end of January.

SCHEMES are not using matching or hedging strategies to reduce liability risk, Pension Protection Fund research reveals.

PERSONAL accounts will fail unless contribution rates and management charges are increased, T Rowe Price warns.

UK - Pension funds' views of consultants have been revealed in the first survey of its kind in the UK, at the NAPF's Investment Conference in Edinburgh.

US - Duff Capital Advisors (DCA), a specialist institutional investment advisory, management and buyout firm, has launched in the US.