News

UK - The National Employment Savings Trust will up its exposure to return-seeking assets through direct investment about five years into its life, its chief investment officer says.

Caroline Instance will step down from her role as chief executive of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in February next year.

Projected retirement incomes for defined contribution savers improved for the second month in a row, Aon Hewitt analysis reveals.

Diversified growth funds are too correlated to equity markets and do not offer defined contribution investors the diversification they need, an asset manager says.

Schemes should concentrate on asset allocation and fees not manager selection, Evercore Pan Asset says.

US - New York City may reduce the assumed return on its $100.5 billion of pension investments from the current 8% rate, Comptroller John Liu said.

Schemes seeking to meet inflation risk can invest in long lease property as a lower-cost alternative to buying pricey index-linked gilts, industry experts say.

US - The Florida Retirement System Pension Plan reported a 14% annual return for the year ending June 30, beating its target by more than two percentage points.

Investec has agreed to sell Rensburg Fund Management Limited to Franklin Templeton for £45m.

More than half of pension trustees perceive commodities as a less risky investment following the credit crunch, according to research commissioned by Goldman Sachs Asset Managemen.