News

EUROPE - Pension funds have welcomed the European Parliament's approval of the European Commission's shareholder voting rights directive, saying it will create opportunity and encourage more active participation.

UK - A public campaign to try to dissuade pension funds from investing in private equity has left them indifferent.

A MERGER between the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund is being looked at as part of an independent review of pension regulation.

AEGON Scottish Equitable has boosted the flexibility of its group personal pension product with the addition of four alternative charging options.

Two-thirds of staff at banking group ING Direct have signed up to a new flexible benefits plan within a month of its launch.

UK commercial property delivered a total return of 18.1pc last year, latest data shows.

INSTITUTE of Actuaries' sanctions against the three former Equitable Life directors are notable for their severity, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain says.

TOTAL funds under management at Schroders rose 5pc in 2006 despite the loss of more than £17bn of institutional assets, the company's preliminary results reveal.

SCHEMES are decreasing their UK equity exposure in favour of overseas markets and high-alpha products, research by Hymans Robertson shows.

ACTUARIES and fund managers should consider "chipping in" to help compensate scheme wind-up victims, a consultant says.