Investment

US - Public pension funds in the US have been said to be embracing risk, but scheme managers at the recent Pension Bridge Annual conference in San Francisco said they're merely taking on riskier assets in a smarter way.

CHILE - Chilean pension funds grew 30.8% to US$119.1bn in the 12 months up to March 2010 on the back of gains in non domestic equities investments, regulator Superintendencia de Pensiones revealed.

CANADA - The C$32.6bn (US$32.5bn) Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) posted a 15.2% profit for 2009 on the back of gains in North American equities, according to its 2009 annual report.

Defined benefit pension funds are £0.3bn in surplus for the first time since June 2008, Pension Protection Fund figures reveal.

ROMANIA - Romanian mandatory private pension funds posted a 9.5% profit for the first quarter of 2010 and gained 24.2% in the 12 months ending March 31, data by pension supervisory authority Comisia de Supraveghere a Sistemului de Pensii Private (CSSPP)...

UK - The Reader's Digest Pension Scheme has entered the Pension Protection Fund's assessment period.

The Reader's Digest Pension Scheme has entered the Pension Protection Fund's assessment period.

European multi-asset strategies grew nearly 30% to a record €848bn (£746bn) of assets under management during 2009 due to investors' need for better risk diversification, a report from Cerulli Associates reveals.

EUROPE - European multi-asset strategies grew nearly 30% to a record €848bn (US$1.1trn) in assets under management during 2009 due to investors' need for better risk diversification, a report from Cerulli Associates revealed.

Pension funds engaging in private placements can earn attractive, inflation linked returns over the longer term and is an activity which is likely to increase, M&G says.