Investment

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.

UK - Total contributions to private pension schemes in the UK dropped for the first time since records began after the recession kicked in, Office of National Statistics research showed.