News

EUROPE - European investors embraced passive management and de-risking strategies in 2008 following stock market downturn and a lack of faith in alternative asset classes.

UK - Auto-enrolment into workplace pensions will benefit 95% of the working population and 70% can expect to get back twice what they put in, the government has said.

DENMARK - The DKK355bn (US$61.3bn) ATP pension fund lost DKK17.8bn over 2008, due mainly to declining equity values, the fund has said.

GLOBAL - The 163-page list of the clients of Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities has been made public.

Darling signals tax cut for savers; Creditors demand investigation over timing of Woolworths collapse; BP dividend cash pledge cheers British pension funds

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has launched an online video-based learning programme for trustees.

Proposed regulatory amendments will give The Pensions Regulator "more teeth" to deal with employers who do not consult members on schemes changes, a lawyer says.

AUSTRALIA - UniSuper, Australia's fourth-largest superannuation fund, has joined calls recommending the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) reform comparison reporting.

Sales of enhanced annuities rose by almost a third in 2008, Watson Wyatt says.

US - Poor fourth quarter results have forced delivery firm UPS to change its 401(k) contribution match, although the company said its existing defined benefit (DB) scheme would remain unchanged.