News

The government is to establish an Investment Governance Group to implement the updated and simplified Myners principles.

UK - A further 3% of UK private sector defined benefit pension schemes closed to new members in the past year, the latest research from the National Association of Pension Funds has revealed.

EUROPE - The European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) voted yesterday to agree the text of the Solvency II Directive, paving the way for the separation of the IORP and Solvency II legislative frameworks.

US - Pension funds have lost over $1trn since the credit crunch began just over a year ago, a congressional committee has been told.

INCLUDING: US - Liability Solutions and MIT merge; UK - New advisory business launches; NETHERLANDS - New director of Mn Services UK appointed; UK - PPF rescues another four pension schemes; UK - North Yorkshire PF awards mandate to Fidelity

UK - The government's plan to shore up the battered UK banking sector with a £50bn (US$87.2bn) emergency share capital package and a further £450bn of loans and guarantees to boost liquidity has been well-received by the pensions industry.

ASIA-PACIFIC - The governance and investment policies of pension reserve funds across the region have entered into a period of transition which would likely have a profound impact on global financial markets, Allianz Global Investors has said.

GLOBAL - The messy collapse of Lehman Brothers has led pension funds to look again at the use of derivatives in their portfolio, the results of the latest Global Pensions 100 Panel have shown.

A review into the structure of the postal industry will determine the future of the Royal Mail Pension Scheme, the Communication Workers Union says.

Dwindling defined benefit pension provision will be further hit if additional layers of actuarial scrutiny are introduced, Buck Consultants says.