Investment

Friends Provident has once again entered discussions with Resolution Limited after receiving a "sufficiently improved" bid from the Clive Cowdery-led acquisition vehicle.

The trustees of the East of England Co-operative Society's two defined benefit pension schemes - worth a total of £78m - have appointed SEI to provide an integrated fiduciary management strategy.

GLOBAL - Art as an asset class has historically outperformed equities and deserves a place in any significant investment portfolio, a latest research published by Castlestone Management has claimed.

Barclays could modify its plans to close its final salary scheme to future accruals in a bid to address the concerns of thousands of workers.

The Pension Protection Fund and similar lifeboat funds are "dangerous black holes", the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says.

Emma Dunkley asks OECD's Edward Whitehouse about the implications of the financial crisis on pension schemes worldwide, and how governments are coping with the change

Pension funds are experiencing a second wave of innovation in the liability-driven investment market, as pension schemes increasingly use derivatives to gain synthetic exposure to asset classes, Redington Partners says.

CANADA - The funding levels of corporate pension plans remain higher than expected considering the downturn in the equity markets, rating agency DBRS said.

IRELAND - The average Irish pension managed fund was up 5.7% in July, marking the fifth consecutive month of gains, according to data compiled by Hewitt Associates.

Cuts in future annuity rates due to the adoption of the Solvency II rules for insurers would put further strain on defined contribution scheme members, Aon Consulting says.