Regions

GLOBAL - Defined contribution schemes across the world are more robust following the financial crisis but need further refining to best meet members' needs, Towers Watson said.

GLOBAL - Fund managers have branded the German regulators ban on naked short selling of various securities in equity and fixed income markets as political posturing rather than an effective remedy to volatility.

GLOBAL - A majority of pension funds believe misalignment of interests with their private equity managers (GPs) had become more apparent during the crisis, a survey by IE Consulting revealed.

US - The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused a former Schroders Investment Management North America (SIMNA) portfolio manager of using confidential information to encourage his family members to offload their shares in a fund he managed.

EUROPE - The international trade body for hedge funds, along with the NAPF, this week urged the European Parliament to vote down an amendment to a controversial directive that would hinder its members investing in EU alternative funds.

GLOBAL - ETF providers including Lyxor have signed licence agreements with Standard & Poor's to launch funds on the S&P 500 index.

GLOBAL - Private equity investors like pension funds can expect the cost of their investments to increase as they require their managers to provide supplementary and timelier information, said KPMG partner Anthony Cecil.

EUROPE - The €750bn (US$970bn) European rescue package is a positive short-term fix, but does not provide the structural changes needed to make pension funds and other investors fully comfortable with European sovereign credit, asset managers said.

EUROPE - The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (ECON) has postponed today's vote on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive (AIFM) to May 17, in order to give "more consideration to the opinion of the Legal...

GLOBAL - Alternative asset manager Aspect Capital and Henderson Global Investors are among five hedge fund managers who have committed themselves to the Hedge Funds Standards Board's (HFSB) standards.