News

US - Private equity firms Bain Capital Partners, LLC and Hellman & Friedman LLC are to acquire a large part of Lehman Brothers Investment Management Division, including asset management firm Neuberger Berman.

UK - Claims that private equity firms are driving pension funds into the control of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) have been challenged by new research.

UK - Clarity from the Pensions Regulator (TPR) on the calculation of transfer values for defined benefit schemes has been welcomed, but with a warning it may not go far enough.

AUSTRALIA - The Australian financial system remains in good shape and banks are well capitalised despite turmoil elsewhere, according to Treasurer Wayne Swan.

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.