News

UK - A decreasing number of defined contribution (DC) pension sponsors and trustees consider their provider to be offering a poor service, a survey by Watson Wyatt has found.

EUROPE - Commodities continue to be at the centre of the investment debate, while pension funds struggle to diversify their portfolio and include assets uncorrelated to the equities market.

Only one-quarter of employers consider pensions to be a key business risk, research from Aon Consulting reveals.

Aviva has launched its global asset management business, Aviva Investors.

Fund management firm Hermes is to build a boutique fund of hedge funds capability.

The capacity of the buyout market will have to increase by £250bn ahead of 2012 to meet current trustee demand for offloading liabilities, Pension Corporation says.

BT Fund expected to raise hedge allocation; Watson Wyatt wins biggest UK mandate; London market and pound drop sharply; Bradford & Bingley nationalised

HSBC has launched a group self-invested personal pension with Standard Life for employees who are looking to invest maturing HSBC Share Reward Plans into a pension.

THE Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund has appointed Watson Wyatt to take on the management of its £3.2bn of assets in what is believed to be the largest fiduciary mandate awarded in the UK.

ASIA - Demand for transition management services is expected to rocket as pension funds in the region increasingly include global investments in their portfolio.