News

Aberdeen has been buying into gilts over the past two weeks on optimism the UK will keep its AAA credit rating and sterling will hold firm.

US - Public pension funds in the US have been said to be embracing risk, but scheme managers at the recent Pension Bridge Annual conference in San Francisco said they're merely taking on riskier assets in a smarter way.

CHILE - Chilean pension funds grew 30.8% to US$119.1bn in the 12 months up to March 2010 on the back of gains in non domestic equities investments, regulator Superintendencia de Pensiones revealed.

US - Legal & General Investment Management America (LGIMA) has appointed Aaron Meder to the newly created position of head of US pension solutions.

CANADA - The C$32.6bn (US$32.5bn) Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) posted a 15.2% profit for 2009 on the back of gains in North American equities, according to its 2009 annual report.

Malcolm McLean is to join Barnett Waddingham as a consultant after being replaced as chief executive of The Pensions Advisory Service.

The Conservatives have unveiled their 2010 election manifesto - outlining plans to "reinvigorate" occupational pensions.

The Tories have pledged to raise the the secondary threshold at which employers start paying National Insurance by £21 a week, countering what it calls Labour's "job tax" of a 1% NI increase.

Pensions: the untold crime of the century; Inequalities in public pay and pensions must be addressed; Brown stays close to Blairite path; Pension investors are not to blame

Defined benefit pension funds are £0.3bn in surplus for the first time since June 2008, Pension Protection Fund figures reveal.