Europe

ITALY - Italian pension schemes are asking fund managers to switch to low volatility cash-like instruments that can be liquidated quickly, MandateWire reports.

EUROPE - ING Investment Management is set to restructure its business into a multi-boutique model in a bid to improve performance and better manage risk.

UK - Employees will need to be provided with basic pension scheme information within seven days of starting work from 2012, the government says.

UK - Pension trustees must show they are taking governance more seriously, financial services secretary Lord Myners says.

UK - FSA chief executive Hector Sants has said pension funds must shoulder some of the blame for the financial crisis and will play a crucial role in any recovery.

FINLAND - The Finnish government has withdrawn its plans to increase the pension age in increments from 63 to 65 from 2011, after reaching an agreement with the three main labour unions and employers.

EUROPE - The first hedge fund exchange-traded fund (ETF) has been launched into the market, by db x-trackers, the ETF arm of Deutsche Bank. The ETF is listed on Deutsche Börse's XTF segment.

UK-The aggregate funding position of the 7800 defined benefit funds monitored by the Pension Protection Fund worsened to a record £218.7bn (US$302.1bn) deficit last month.

NORWAY - The Government Pension Fund - Global, also known as the Oil Fund, said its end of year results for 2008 were the worst in its history, with a total loss of -23.3%.

UK- Barclays Global Investors has hired David Gagnon as a director of transition strategy, where he will head the team which handles client portfolio restructurings.