Global

GLOBAL - Towers Watson has started recommending its clients invest up to half of their passive assets in fundamental indexes.

GLOBAL - The relationship between pension funds and their consultants is changing with scheme managers often asking their advisers to be more proactive with their investment advice, industry experts said.

GLOBAL - Pension funds have been returning to the UK property market in the wake of improving returns after the asset class lost almost half of its value in two years, industry figures said.

GLOBAL - Private equity and real estate fundraising last year reached the lowest level since 2004, a survey by Preqin has revealed.

GLOBAL - The volume of securities lending activity fell in 2009, but the fees raked in for the securities being lent increased over the past year as borrowers focused on hard-to-borrow securities, Data Explorers Consulting found.

GLOBAL - Hewitt Associates has reported a doubling in the number of hedge fund manager searches during 2009 in comparison with the previous year.

GLOBAL - Institutional pension fund assets in the 13 major markets increased by 15% during 2009, from US$20trn to over US$23trn, latest Towers Watson research has revealed.

GLOBAL - Investors in Australia, the UK and Sweden ranked highest in a new "Environmental Real Estate Index" developed on the back of a global environmental survey commissioned by three large European pension funds.

GLOBAL - Worldwide investment fund assets increased 6.2% in the third quarter of 2009, reaching €15.3trn (US$21.5trn) at the end of September 2009, latest figures from the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) have revealed.

GLOBAL - BlackRock's net new business totalled US$82bn in the fourth quarter of 2009, with pension funds and other institutional investors accounting for 60% of it.