Europe

UK - Opposition parties attacked the government after new figures showed the pension credit was failing to reach 2m of the 4.9m people eligible.

UK - Insight Investment has sold the freehold to a retail property in Bishop Stortford to a privately held company for £1.6m.

UK - Schemes must be aware that investment banks have a vested interest when they are trying to sell derivative or bond-based products, delegates were warned.

UK - The National Association of Pension Funds has hit out at fund managers for adding complexity to proposals in the Higgs combined code on corporate governance.

UK - Aberdeen Asset Management has launched an Asian smaller companies fund aimed at pension schemes.

UK - Pension schemes can boost their returns by switching active managers to higher performance targets with only a small increase in risk, delegates heard.

UK - Local authority schemes should consider abandoning their "one size fits all" investment strategies to take account of the various employers they represent, delegates at a recent conference were told.

UK - The Staffordshire County Council Pension Fund's FRS17 deficit has risen by £347m to £575m in the past year.

UK - Lay trustees must be consulted over any code of practice governing their duties or moves towards mandatory qualifications, trustee champion Brian Holden warns.

UK - Pension funds have recovered 50% of the losses they sustained during the three-year bear market, performance measurement specialist Russell/Mellon claims.