Regions

EUROPE - Fiduciary duty and good governance are key aspects of the European Fund and Asset Management Association's (EFAMA) new code of conduct for the European investment management industry.

EUROPE - Nestle has confirmed to Globalpensions.com that it is in the "process of setting up" an asset pooling vehicle, the Common Contractual Fund (CCF), in Dublin, Ireland.

GLOBAL - British Airways have confirmed any decision to close its final salary pension scheme would cost the company more than double its current pension deficit.

EUROPE - Insufficient knowledge of risk exposure and ineffective asset allocation policies are factors preventing institutional investors from reaping the diversification potential of hedge funds, a survey has claimed.

GLOBAL: The 187bn Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (ABP) action against has been met with defiance from two of the three key defendants Shell and KPMG who claimed they will strongly defend their cases.

GLOBAL - Pension schemes could generate more alpha by opting for a sector-specific approach to global equities rather than a country focus, said T. Rowe Price.

GLOBAL - Investment managers throughout the globe are expecting pension funds to increase allocations to more diverse alternative investments, according to Mercer Investment Consulting's 2006 Fearless Forecast.

LONDON - A strong equity market performance could not stop pension scheme deficits in the FTSE 350 companies soaring 24% to £93bn last year, Mercer Human Resource Consulting has found.

GLOBAL - John Ashcroft, head of strategy at the Pensions Regulator, has been re-elected as president of The International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS).

The Global Pensions team are taking a well-earned break and will return with your daily newswire on 3 January. We hope those of our readers taking a festive break have a merry one. And we wish all of our readers a prosperous 2006.