Europe

UK - Government proposals could force investors to bail out failed schemes at any company in which they have an interest, Punter Southall warns.

FRANCE - The giant e16bn French Pensions Reserve Fund (FRR) has appointed 12 new external managers to manage four mandates worth e4.12bn.

UK - The six members who will lead the Pensions Management Institute's new independent trustee committee have been elected in a poll where 80% of members voted.

DENMARK - Kommunernes Pensionsforsikring (KP), the e9bn pension insurance company of Danish municipalities, is considering increasing its equities allocation by 5% to 25%.

UK - Demographic change and pensions will be the subject of a one-day conference organised by The Work Foundation next month.

UK - Standard Life Investments has launched a global index-linked bond fund targeted at pension schemes.

UK - Watson Wyatt has released its annual report detailing employee benefit legislation across 17 European countries.

UK - Small and medium-sized UK pension schemes will be able to invest in US equities without huge tax burdens for the first time.

UK - Final salary schemes are disappearing among small firms, new research reveals.

UK - Gresham has closed its third private equity fund after raising £235m from schemes and other institutional investors.