News

Market turmoil set to spark bout of consolidation; Enhanced annuities top £1bn; Two new asset classes for the armoury; Struggling Friends puts the final touches to strategy

Transfer times for funds paid into self-invested personal pensions will be slashed by new Financial Services Authority regulations, Hornbuckle Mitchell believes.

SEI has reported its largest year of growth since the launch of its UK operations in 2000.

UK - Pension funds will continue the move to invest in absolute return strategies during 2008, according to Hewitt Associates.

UK- One in four people aged 55-plus invests in shares as an alternative to their pensions, research from Lincoln Financial Group has revealed.

US - A lawsuit against home mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corporation and others, brought by New York pension funds, has been expanded to include additional defendants.

SALES of enhanced annuities in the UK exceeded £1bn for the first time in 2007, latest research from Watson Wyatt reveals.

US - Barings was awarded more than 18 new active international equity mandate wins in December, worth over $150m.

Asset managers suffered net institutional outflows of £481m in December, latest figures from the Investment Management Association show.

US - The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is to oppose the re-election of seven board members of electronics company Sanmina-SCI Corporation because of unresolved poor stock performance and governance practices.