Regions

CANADA/US - The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has signed a deal with Avista Capital Partners to buy INC Research Inc for an undisclosed sum.

GLOBAL - Research house Lipper is urging pension funds to follow the lead of CalPERS and Utah Retirement Systems in pushing hedge fund managers to explain and justify their fee structures.

NETHERLANDS - Algemene Pensioen Groep NV, which manages about €250bn ($321bn) for the Netherland's largest pension fund, said it plans to increase its real estate investment in Asia as it seeks to benefit from the region's economic growth.

EUROPE - The European Commission is reviewing a letter from nine member states seeking to alter the way public debt is calculated to account for changes in state pension systems.

GLOBAL - Barclays Bank violated US sanctions in dealings with Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Burma, court papers have revealed.

GLOBAL - Almost three quarters (73%) of infrastructure investors believe their fund managers' interests are poorly aligned with their own, research by Preqin has found.

GLOBAL - Have you missed the biggest stories in pensions this week? Find out below, as we list the top five most popular stories on www.globalpensions.com over the past seven days (6 August - 13 August).

GLOBAL - Aegon has reported an increase in underlying earnings before tax increase from €414m ($531m) to €522m in Q2, supported by improved financial markets.

UK/CANADA/ASIA - Standard Life has seen net corporate business inflows increase by 71% in the first half of the year.

GLOBAL - Almost a third of pension funds and other institutional investors intend to increase hedge fund investment over the next year, research shows.