UK - Investment Gateway, the new Watson Wyatt investment strategy for defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, has broken the £1bn barrier, with the consultant claiming to have around 15 clients committed.
UK - OTC derivatives, 'added-value' products and pooled funds were the three principle areas where UK investment managers had operational concerns, according to the results of a survey carried out by Investit Intelligence.
ITALY - Italian farmers will be forced to work until they are 80 years old unless their pension system is revised, warned the Italian Confederation of Farmers (CIA) and the National Pensioners's Association (ANP).
PORTUGAL - Portuguese pension funds received average expected returns of 1.4% (m-o-m) for August despite market volatility, said a report released by Watson Wyatt in Portugal.
EUROPE - Pioneer Investments has hired Kate Parker as institutional sales manager for UK and Ireland as it positions itself to further "target" the institutional marketplace.
UK - BNP Paribas has appointed Tony Osborn-Barker as global head of pensions as it seeks to demonstrate its commitment to the pensions sector.
NORWAY - Two Norwegian municipal pension funds worth an estimated total of NOK320m (e38.6m) are seeking a supplier to handle the administration, asset management and underwriting of the schemes.
UK - Although the two-month postponement of the implementation of the new age discrimination regulations was welcomed by the pensions industry, some claimed the delay will bring about a further period of uncertainity.
ITALY - Lamberto Dini, the author of the 1995 Italian pension reform, has slammed a government proposal to transfer employees' final indemnity payments to the national institute of social welfare (INPS).
UK - "The proposed National Pension Savings Scheme (NPSS) is the best model for creating a simple pensions scheme for those who are currently not saving," according to the Investment Management Association (IMA) in its response to the government White...