Investment

The volume of buyout transactions will rise to £5bn in 2010 as prices become lower and more stable, the Society of Pension Consultants predicts.

Aviva has brought its two UK businesses together under a single chief executive in a bid to serve customers better.

IRELAND - The average Irish managed pension fund returned 11.7% in the quarter ending September 30, but recent gains weren't enough to wipe out negative returns over the past year.

FRANCE - Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR) has created an investment strategy committee that will help design, implement and monitor the scheme's asset allocation.

UK - Companies have continued to increase contributions to DC schemes despite the recession, a survey by Mercer revealed.

UK/US - Local authority pension schemes could be losing out on £125m (US$198.9m) by failing to participate in US class action lawsuits, research by Goal Group revealed.

Credit Suisse Group AG, which sold its Japanese asset management unit in June, will offer alternative investments including private-equity funds to attract the nation's US$800bn in pension money.

Companies have continued to increase contributions to DC schemes despite the recession, a survey by Mercer reveals.

FTSE 100 companies are in danger of sleepwalking into reporting an unnecessary £26bn of pension liabilities in their accounts, Hewitt Associates warns.

Local authority pension schemes could be losing out on £125m by failing to participate in US class action lawsuits, research by Goal Group, reveals.