News

US - California is considering a move which would compel the country's largest pension funds to divest from companies which do business with Iran in the latest stage in the war on terror.

HYMANS Robertson has promoted Stephen Birch to the position head of manager research.

ONE IN FOUR UK companies are set to transfer pension liabilities to insurance firms within the next five years, delegates at a Watson Wyatt seminar claim.

US - Despite the well-documented Amaranth collapse wiping out a huge portion of its assets almost overnight, San Diego County Employees Retirement Association (SDCERA) earned nearly US$1bn in 2006.

UK - Mercer Investment Consulting worldwide partner and European director of consulting policy, Andy Green, is quitting Mercer. It is rumored that Green will join Deloitte.

India - Robeco and Canara Bank of India have teamed up to launch an asset management venture in India, called Canara Robeco Asset Management.

SCHRODERS has launched a "third generation" liability-driven investment product that combines liability-matching strategies and high-growth assets.

UK - The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has appointed five new fund managers and announced its investment returns are "likely" to match its levy income within five years' time.

SOUTH AFRICA - A senior executive of Alexander Forbes, the service provider which recently escaped corruption charges, has been criticised for advice given to two South African municipal pension funds whilst working as an actuary for NBC Employee Benefits....

US - San Diego's retirement board has voted to speed up the payback of the US$1bn pension fund deficit in the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS), by swtiching from a 30-year to a 20-year payback schedule.