Investment

The Society of Pension Consultants has launched a whitepaper to assist sponsors in the design of defined contribution schemes.

US - The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) has appointed John Petzold as its first director of investment management/deputy chief investment officer.

UK - Abolishing contracting out for final salary schemes could eventually lead to a higher universal state pension, an analyst says.

Defined contribution scheme members are overly optimistic about reaching their retirement targets, Towers Watson research shows.

EUROPE - The European Commission is reviewing a letter from nine member states seeking to alter the way public debt is calculated to account for changes in state pension systems.

Institutional investment in Gartmore's £3.6bn alternative funds business increased to 70% of total assets under management in the first half of 2010, interim results show.

NORWAY - The Government Pension Fund Global saw 5.4% (155bn kroner, $25bn) wiped off its investments in the second quarter of 2010, pulled down by a decline in global equity markets and a massive loss on its stake in BP.

News that the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global lost €1.1bn on its 1.75% stake in BP has highlighted the potential impact faced by UK schemes, FairPensions says.

MEXICO - The Mexican Association of Administrators of Retirement Funds (Amafore) recorded profits of 2.6% in June, achieving a cumulative average of 6.6% in annualised terms.

The Department for Work and Pensions has issued a formal consultation on proposals to shift the inflation link for increases in PPF and FAS payments from the retail prices index (RPI) to the consumer prices index (CPI).