Regions

UK-The total cost of tax relief for pensions in the last tax year was £12.3 billion, marking a £1.5 billion or 14% rise from the previous year.

EUROPE - Continental Europe has doubled its commitment to hedge funds amid a worldwide surge in alternative investment by institutions, according to research from Russell.

NORDICS - UBS Global Asset Management is set to launch a new asset liability matching solution for pension funds in the Nordic region.

EUROPE - Bank of Ireland Asset Management has introduced the Holt quantitative tool to its investment process, raising concerns that the strong conviction manager is straying from its investment process.

EUROPE - Credit Agricole's asset management and investment banking divisions have joined forces to create Credit Agricole Structured Asset Management (CASAM).

EUROPE - Pressure to generate additional returns in a market that ‘penalises' risk-taking has triggered a decline in pension fund solvency ratios, a Greenwich Associates survey has found.

AUSTRIA - A senior member of the commission tasked with recommending reforms to Austria's state pension system has criticised the measures adopted by the government, claiming a notional defined contribution system would have been a preferable alternative....

EUROPE - Donald J. Johnston, secretary-general of the OECD, has expressed concern over the trend to defined contribution and its impact on the behaviour of financial markets.  

EUROPE - AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has reported total new net monies of e25.9bn as at 31 August 2005, an increase of 39% on the same period in 2004. 

GLOBAL - Andrew Skirton, global co-CEO, is to leave Barclays Global Investors in the coming month.