US - The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has made a US$500m investment commitment to the new real estate ARA Asia Dragon Fund.

Growth forecast for pension buyouts; The next generation of pensions investing; Multi-boutique model too complex; Financial services firms pessimistic

It is less than 18 months since A-Day and already the blueprint for executive scheme members is start...

THE NATIONAL Association of Pension Funds has released dates for a seminar on regulation and a conference on trusteeship.

EUROPE - The voluntary supplementary pension fund for MEPs at the European Parliament has appointed Aon Consulting to conduct an actuarial study on the portfolio.

UK - The newsletter for trustees at Royal Dutch Shell has suggested contributions could be suspended to its £11.9bn UK pension fund for up to a year.

INCLUDING:UK - Barings announces new appointments; UK - Tories to announce pension ‘life-boat'; UK - Pensions First announces position; UK - First Actuarial training; UK - Aberdeen handed £130m mandate

UK PENSION schemes have been the surprise beneficiaries of the banking crisis thanks to the impact on corporate bonds, according to Aon Consulting.

NEW ZEALAND - The Government Superannuation Fund (GSF) Authority has reported a pre-tax surplus of NZ$553m, representing a return of 14.9%.

UK - Over 50% of the top 200 company pension schemes are back in surplus as a side effect of the summer's credit crunch, according to research from Aon.