News

NETHERLANDS - The €71.5bn (US$94.3bn) PFZW pension fund has confirmed it will freeze pension increases for a total of four years in a bid to restore solvency.

Mercer and Callan Associates have terminated their 17 February agreement to merge their investment consulting businesses.

Hewitt Associates has reappointed Gavin Tillman to its UK investment consulting team.

INDIA - The launch of the Indian national New Pension Scheme (NPS) has been set for May 1 following concerns about the ability to inform prospective members in time.

ISRAEL- Two of the largest banks in Israel - Leumi and Hapoalim - will be able to offer pension advisory services to salaried workers from April 1 2009, a year before initially planned.

EUROPE- BlackRock is tapping into investors' need to outsource as it looks to grow its Europe, Middle East and Africa business.

UK - The average UK pension fund achieved a weighted average return of -13.6% in 2008, research from BNY Mellon Asset Servicing reveals.

US - The $173bn California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) is overhauling its hedge fund relationships asking for more transparency and demanding fees based on longer-term performance.

SWEDEN - Swedish state pension fund AP1 is planning to build an exposure to hedge funds, an asset class in which it currently has no allocation.

UK - The £1.4bn Kingfisher Staff Pension Scheme has terminated a 130/30 mandate three years after the initial investment was made, MandateWire reports.