Investment

The government has announced it will reform the country's social housing system, allowing more new affordable homes to be built, providing potential investment opportunities for pension funds.

The state pension age will reach 66 by 2020, as part of the Spending Review.

GLOBAL - For the second year in a row, Dutch retirement systems came first in a global pension index comparing private and public pension schemes based on adequacy, sustainability and integrity.

Principal Global Investors has launched an actively managed currency fund for institutional investors.

Trustees are failing to assert themselves on crucial issues such as liability management and asset safety because of time pressures, Kas Bank warns.

European Union governments have reached an agreement on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive.

NORWAY - Norway's Government Pension Fund Global has grown to NOK3trn ($512bn) for the first time in its 14-year history.

Scheme funding positions were affected by as much as £50bn in Q3 due to the movement and volatility of long-term gilt yields, Pension Insurance Corporation says.

RBC Wealth Management has reached an agreement to buy BlueBay Asset Management for £963m.

Timberland Investment Resources, a US-based forestry investment firm, has established a European business to provide UK schemes access to its asset strategies.