News

THE CREDIT crisis is delaying the execution of derivatives-based liability hedging strategies for pension funds, Watson Wyatt warns.

US - Investors in the shareholder derivative suit concerning options backdating at UnitedHealth Group Inc have been awarded US$920m from its officers.

PRIME Rate Capital Management has received authorisation from the Financial Services Authority to become the first UK-based specialist provider of qualifying Money Market Funds.

ABI joins chorus against Sports Direct; Rate cuts begin; Two leading bidders stumble in race for Rock

With their bottomless balance sheets and engineering abilities, investment banks have positioned themselves to move into the defined benefit space. But are they welcome and is there room for everyone? Jenny Blinch investigates

US - Mercer has said it will "vigorously" defend a $1.8bn law suit by the State of Alaska, which alleges the actuary made mistakes in calculating the state pension plan's expected liabilities.

UK - Overlay Asset Management has launched a specialist fund to invest exclusively in emerging market currencies.

UK - Guernsey's public sector pension fund has suffered a paper loss of £2.25m (US$4.6m) because of an ill-timed investment in Northern Rock.

The Pension Protection Fund has rejected claims it "moved the goalposts" by raising the cut-off point for schemes paying its risk-based levy.

THE NATIONAL Association of Pension Funds has recommended that pension funds jointly finance a test case against HM Revenue and Customs in a bid to recover hundreds of millions of pounds of VAT for UK schemes.