News

SPAIN - Assets under management of Spanish pension funds suffered a 3.75% year-on-year decline due to market performance and reduced members' contribution, data by the Inverco reveal.

SWITZERLAND - The circa CHF12.3bn (us$11.5bn) Pensionskasse Novartis is discussing the closure of its defined benefit structure in favour of a defined contribution arrangement. The board of trustees expects changes to happen as of January 1, 2011, MandateWire...

US - The funding status of S&P 1500 pension schemes dropped in July for the third month in a row on the back of falling AA corporate bond yields, Mercer said.

Barclays could modify its plans to close its final salary scheme to future accruals in a bid to address the concerns of thousands of workers.

Barclays responds to pension scheme protests; Taking the shine off pensions

The Pension Protection Fund and similar lifeboat funds are "dangerous black holes", the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says.

Pension funds are experiencing a second wave of innovation in the liability-driven investment market, as pension schemes increasingly use derivatives to gain synthetic exposure to asset classes, Redington Partners says.

A Court of Appeal judgment relating to a pension discrimination dispute dating back to 1995 has been referred back to the employment tribunal where it first began.

US - A former Chicago money manager has been ordered to repay five Michigan pension funds US$50m after it was alleged he misappropriated pension fund assets to invest in a strip club and horse farm.

UK - Railpen Investments - which manages the assets of the Railways Pension Scheme -has invested £65m (US$109.3m) in a global long/short equity fund of hedge funds run by Goodhart Partners.