News

CANADA/US - A Canadian union has attacked the government over its silence on measures to protect pension fund savings and demanded action in the face of CAN$80bn (US$75.8bn) in losses since the end of March.

EUROPE - Fortis, the Dutch-Belgian bank that was partially nationalised earlier in the week, has dropped plans to form a partnership with Chinese bank and insurance company Ping An.

UK - The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has attacked proposed new accounting rules for pension schemes as 'premature' and potentially damaging to the long term viability of defined contribution (DB) schemes.

UK - The Pensions Regulator has published its conflicts of interest guidance , designed to help trustees of occupational pension schemes and employers identify, monitor and manage the issue.

US - Risk management is the number one priority for businesses in the current environment, more important than retirement scheme planning and debt financing, according to data published by Towers Perrin and CFO Research.

UK - Almost a third of institutional investors plan to increase their allocation to commodity-based Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) over the next five years, according to Lyxor.

UK - Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are still in deficit but funding bounced back by £19bn ($34bn) last month, despite the market turmoil, according to Aon Consulting.

UK - The Pensions Management Institute is warning trustees they may still be liable for pension funds that have been wholly bought out, despite the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) claiming it would step in if an insurer went bust.

NETHERLANDS - Former Cardano director Geert-Jan Troost has joined Watson Wyatt Worldwide's investment consulting practice as senior investment consultant.

Schemes and other investors should not panic as a result of yesterday's market falls, fund managers say.