Regions

EUROPE - Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes offer the most appropriate means to create a single European market in pensions, according to a report from the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)

GLOBAL - By 2009 nearly 70% of all pension plans may be using customised benchmarks, to create more sophisticated investments, according to Tabb Group.

ASIA - Standard Chartered Bank has appointed Hari Chaitanya as head of sales (custody and cash management) for South East Asia.

US - Investor confidence has risen by three points to 68.8, a rise that has been put down to improvement in risk appetite for selected sectors by North American investors.

EUROPE - Lehman Brothers issued its European Pensions Briefing with a warning schemes should be addressing their solvency levels over the coming year.

EUROPE - Many Europeans may be losing out in pension schemes with long minimum contribution periods because more than 40% of the European workforce stay less than five years in the same job, two new studies have found.

The ripples of the sub-prime crisis have touched private equity, but there are still opportunities to be had. Andrew Sheen reports

ASIA - Asset managers have seen a trend of European pension funds splitting regional allocations to Asia, following poor performances in Japan.

GLOBAL - Pension schemes fearing hedge fund fraud could be protected by an insurance product launched today by Protean Investment risks.

EUROPE - Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux has been awarded the Farsight Award for its 'Utilities vs Carbon: Phase II' research paper.