Mercer

KPMG has hired Jon Exley, former partner at rival Mercer's financial strategy group, to serve as partner within the investment advisory practice.

Mercer has hired a key employee from the National Employment Savings Trust as a senior consultant in its governance and trustee services group.

Covenant monitoring will come under increased scrutiny from The Pensions Regulator because of current market turmoil, Mercer has warned.

The aggregate deficit of S&P 1500 pension plans increased by $134bn in September, reaching a "post-World War II high", Mercer claims.

Pensions deficits for FTSE350 companies grew by 21% in September as falling bond yields and volatile stock markets were mitigated by a reduction in interest rate projections.

The country's biggest firms have increased their pensioner longevity assumptions for the fifth year running in a move which has added about 1% to scheme liabilities, Mercer says.

Rachel Alembakis looks at the details behind the Australian government's plans to create a cheaper, more effective pensions industry

GLOBAL - Have you missed the biggest stories in pensions this week? Find out below, as we list the top 10 most popular stories on www.globalpensions.com over the past seven days.

US - The number of defined contribution (DC) retirement plans in the US offering a sustainable and responsible investing (SRI) choice could double in the next three years, research suggests.

KOREA - Mercer has set up an investment management business in Korea to help local institutional investors take advantage of global market opportunities.