Investment

GLOBAL - The number of schemes awarding managers bond mandates increased by over 50% in 2009, Towers Watson said.

The Shell Contributory Pension Fund has shifted more of its equities and bonds exposure to passive management, after active management has not been successful for many investors, the trustee says.

Courts in Canada and the US have blocked The Pensions Regulator's attempts to seek £2.1bn from Nortel Networks on behalf of the struggling UK pension scheme.

Fujitsu workers have voted to accept a revised deal from bosses which will see their final salary scheme stay open for an extra year.

What is fiduciary management?

CANADA - Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec posted a 10% return for 2009 but fell short of its target returns.

JAPAN - A high allocation to domestic bonds held back returns at Japan's public pension fund during the last three months of 2009.

SWEDEN - One of Sweden's biggest institutional investors, AMF, reported that positive investment returns of 12.6% for 2009 helped it to further strengthen its balance sheet last year.

Matthew Craig looks at the stages trustees must go through to deal with scheme liabilities, and the factors they should consider before opting for a buy-in or buyout

A surge in gilt rates is set to cut the cost of buyouts and reduce scheme deficits by 6%.