Mercer

NETHERLANDS - De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank, said it plans to improve the risk management functions at local pension funds after a review of the industry found schemes took on too much investment risk.

Each month DC World asks readers for their views. This month we ask: What do you think will be the key issues facing DC schemes in 2010?

One in four employers have reduced their benefit costs by implementing a flexible benefits scheme, Mercer says.

Overall investment manager search activity increased in the UK during the first nine months of the year, Mercer says.

UK - Overall investment manager search activity increased in the UK during the first nine months of the year in a sign activity is returning to pre-credit crunch levels, Mercer said.

Investment returns are becoming dominated by the emerging markets, Mercer says.

FRANCE - Investment returns are becoming dominated by the emerging markets, Mercer said.

In recent times structured products have increasingly grown more attractive to Australian superannuation funds - a trend that is set to contune, as Rachel Alembakis reports

The next government must drastically simplify pensions legislation to enable the development of shared-risk schemes as a logical alternative to defined benefit, Mercer says.

US - The median corporate and public pension funds posted positive returns in the third quarter, with results of 12.1% and 11.7%, respectively, according to data compiled by Mercer.