Europe

UK - More than half of employees pay less than 6% of their salary into their DC schemes, a new survey shows.

UK - State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of State Street Corporation, said that its assets managed in London increased by 85% to £92.8bn for year ending March 31, 2004.

UK - Flexible benefits technology provider Vebnet has revealed a 98% jump in turnover on the back of growing demand from the UK market.

UK - Employers are dumping newly-established defined contribution plans in favour of stakeholder and group personal pensions, industry leaders warn.

SPAIN - Spanish pension funds registered an average return of 2.3% for the first quarter of 2004 as compared to 8.1% for the entire year 2003.

UK - Over half of FTSE350 firms have plans to integrate their pension schemes into a wider flexible benefits programme, a new survey shows.

UK - Emerging market debt will provide long-term investors with welcome returns despite suffering a recent dip in performance, Axa Investment Managers claims.

UK - Fund management giant Fidelity Investments is looking to expand its presence beyond the occupational pensions market and into group personal arrangements.

UK - Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow's parent, Hewitt Associate, has acquired human resource business process outsourcing services provider Exult, in an all-share deal.

UK - The Compliance Register - an international organisation for compliance professionals and senior financial services industry managers - is launching its first annual awards.