Global

GLOBAL - Pension funds activism as shareholders was "conspicuous by its absence" during the crisis but more engagement by schemes could have made things worse, an academic claimed.

GLOBAL - The European rescue package has provided an out for long-term investors that had underestimated credit risk in their European sovereign holdings, PIMCO managing director and head of European portfolio management Andrew Balls said.

GLOBAL - Mellon Transition Management managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Tim Wilkinson has decided to leave the company to pursue other interests.

GLOBAL - Defined contribution schemes across the world are more robust following the financial crisis but need further refining to best meet members' needs, Towers Watson said.

GLOBAL - Fund managers have branded the German regulators ban on naked short selling of various securities in equity and fixed income markets as political posturing rather than an effective remedy to volatility.

GLOBAL - A majority of pension funds believe misalignment of interests with their private equity managers (GPs) had become more apparent during the crisis, a survey by IE Consulting revealed.

GLOBAL - ETF providers including Lyxor have signed licence agreements with Standard & Poor's to launch funds on the S&P 500 index.

GLOBAL - Private equity investors like pension funds can expect the cost of their investments to increase as they require their managers to provide supplementary and timelier information, said KPMG partner Anthony Cecil.

GLOBAL - Alternative asset manager Aspect Capital and Henderson Global Investors are among five hedge fund managers who have committed themselves to the Hedge Funds Standards Board's (HFSB) standards.

GREECE/GLOBAL - Greece has pledged to undertake a pensions overhaul as part of the structural reforms agreed with its partners in the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for a €110bn (US$144bn) rescue package.