Regions

LUXEMBOURG - Luxembourg's pension system is weakening and appears unsustainable under present rules, making reform a necessity, the OECD has claimed.

EUROPE - Regulation is just one of a number of issues standing in the way of hedge fund demand, according to Soondra Appavoo, MD of Psolve Alternative Investments.

EUROPE - EU member states should recognise investors' hunger for hedge funds without smothering it with unnecessary regulation, said the alternative investment expert group.

EUROPE - CEIOPS has reviewed its ‘roadmap' for the Solvency II project and its extension into 2007, a controversial issue for occupational pension funds.

EUROPE - The UK and Slovenia have been referred to the court of justice for not having written the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) Directive into their national laws.

NIGERIA - The National Union of Pensioners (NUP) has demanded the current government pay out all outstanding pensions before handing power over to the next administration in May 2007.

EUROPE - Fitch Ratings has launched a service which provides an independent assessment of the investment processes within an investment management organisation.

EUROPE - European integration could help UK pension funds that have made a move to defined contribution find a route back to defined benefit, a PGGM advisor has claimed.

GLOBAL - Although commodities markets are currently in contango, investment in this asset class has been pitched as an excellent diversifier and protection from inflation and other unexpected occurrences.

EUROPE - Pension funds across Europe are set to gain from a period of hedge fund outperformance, F&C asset management has predicted.