Regions

GLOBAL - The Mercer Sentinel Group of Mercer Investment Consulting has launched a new transition consulting business with "global transition manager research capability".

GLOBAL - European pension fund giants AP7, ABP and PKA have joined the Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System (MPERS) in the US in suing Dell over alleged accounting fraud.

NETHERLANDS - PGGM has appointed three external members to its Audit Committee, with the appointments effective from November 22.

EUROPE - A report issued recently by Standard & Poor's (S&P) Ratings Services has claimed the transition to IFRS has had a "pronounced impact" on the balance sheets of western European banks, "through the emergence of considerable unfunded obligations"...

EUROPE - A shift towards performance fees and a more long term approach to relationships with investment managers were two key trends noted by the INVESCO European Institutional Asset Management Survey (EIAMS) 2006.

GLOBAL - Fortis Investment Management and Cadogan Management have combined their respective fund of hedge funds (FOHF) activities to create a US$3.7bn stand-alone asset management company, with Fortis the majority shareholder on 70%.

EUROPE - ABN AMRO Mellon Global Securities Services has appointed five relationship managers, to be based in the UK, Netherlands and Germany.

UK - The recently announced changes by the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) to better align FRS17 with IAS19 have no significant consequences for pension funds, an industry expert has claimed.

US - State Street has called for enhanced disclosure in transition management as the boundaries between business models become increasingly blurred.

GLOBAL - Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting revenues grew 36% in its first quarter financial results compared to the same time period last year.