News

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.

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

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.

Just Retirement saw sales fall 8.6% in the six months to December 31, its half-year results published today.