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SWITZERLAND - Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) has launched two new tax efficient investment funds for Swiss pension funds.

SWITZERLAND - Swiss investment consultants have slammed the push towards structured products by some investment managers to boost pension fund returns, calling these products far too expensive.

AUSTRIA - The Finance Committee of the Nationalrat, the Austrian parliament,has given the green light to Kollektivversicherung, a collective insurance vehicle, set tosupplement Austria's second pillar system. The introduction opens the way for the insurance...

GERMANY - Germany's insurers have cut with-profits payments for the second year in succession.

SWITZERLAND - Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) has appointed Christian Werner head of research, effective immediately.

GERMANY - Inherent promises made in the Riester reform - maintaining the standard pension replacement at levels above 67% and preventing the contribution rate from exceeding 20% until 2020 and 22% until 2030 - are unlikely to be kept.

SWITZERLAND - Swiss pension fund returns improved nearly 2% in the fourth quarter of 2004, outperforming the legal minimum requirement, according to Credit Swiss Asset Management (CSAM).

GERMANY - The German government is set to be the short-term beneficiary this year of plans to securitise Deutsche Post and Deutsche Telekom's liabilities to the Post-Pensionskasse, the scheme that covers ex-employees of the two part-privatised companies,...

SWITZERLAND - Switzerland has unveiled controversial new proposals in its draft guidance on BVG Ordinance II prohibiting registered pension funds from offering investment choice to their members.

AUSTRIA - The e2.2bn OEPAG Pensionskassen is planning to increase its allocation to hedge funds to 10% from the existing 4% level.