Europe

UK - The deficit of the Local Government Pension Scheme has more than doubled to £100bn ($156.5bn) since the scheme's last triennial valuation, a study shows.

FRANCE - Improving companies through corporate governance will remain "a fantasy" until pension trustees better align their managers' incentives, said Mark Fawcett, chief investment officer at the UK's National Employment Savings Trust.

UK - The 6,560 schemes monitored by the Pension Protection Fund reported an aggregate deficit of £1bn ($1.6bn) at the end of last month.

UK - The government has launched a public consultation on giving people under-55 early access to their pension.

FRANCE - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) plans to start its research on managing longevity risk in January, and could propose governments issue life expectancy indexes.

EUROPE - PIMCO is partnering with exchange-traded product provider Source to offer fixed income ETFs in Europe, marking PIMCO's entry into the European ETF market.

UK - The Barclays UK Retirement fund has launched its own asset management company to give its in-house investment team more flexibility around investment decisions.

UK - Goldman Sachs' insurance subsidiary Rothesay Life has bought a majority holding in Paternoster following a four-month sale process.

UK - Pension schemes should overhaul their internal governance structures to ensure they are able to take "timely and considered" investment decisions, Schroders says.

UK/US/CANADA - A financial support direction issued by The Pensions Regulator against insolvent companies is an expense of the administration and must be complied with, the High Court has ruled.