Regions

NORDICS - T. Rowe Price Global Investment Services has beefed up its Nordic presence with the appointment of Jan Eggertsen, who joins from Danske Bank.

EUROPE - Greco International, a Vienna-based acturial and benefits consulting firm, will be helping Towers Perrin clients develop their operations in Austria and eastern Europe, following the signing of an alliance partnership agreement.

SOUTH AFRICA - The Financial Services Board (FSB) has confirmed that the imminent pension reform will iron out any ambiguities regarding the legality, or lack thereof, within the practice of bulking by pension fund administrators.

EUROPE - The pensions portability directive, still under discussion, has taken another beating, this time for being overly ambitious and meddlesome.

EUROPE - The sustainability of public finances is challenged by poor design of public pensions, which promotes unrealistic expectations, according to European commissioner Joaquin Almunia.

EUROPE - EDHEC has disputed claims by the European Central Bank that hedge fund activities posed considerable risk to the financial system.

GLOBAL - Pension funds should remain unaffected by the high debt levels in buy-out deals, despite the alarm being raised in the press over the financing of private equity deals.

EUROPE - Following the wave of pension funds signing the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) charter, ABN AMRO Asset Management has strengthened its SRI offering with the launch of a Sustainable Global Credit Fund (SGCF).

GLOBAL - The Bank of Ireland Group (BOI) has established a joint venture with Paul Capital Partners (PCP), a leading US private equity specialist, to provide private equity fund of funds products and advisory services to institutional and other investors...

GLOBAL - A consortium involving the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) has purchased 92% of shares in Chilean electricity transmission firm Transelec in a deal worth C$1.75bn (US$1.55bn).