EUROPE - Investments into long term UCITS excluding money market funds surged in the first quarter of 2010 to €87bn (US$106.1bn) in net inflows, the first time such levels had been reached since Q1 2006, according to new figures from the European Fund...

US - The defined benefit (DB) plans of US companies have improved their funding from 2008 lows, but still showed a funding gap of US$252bn at March 31 2010, a report from Mercer revealed.

GLOBAL - Pension funds should base their investment decisions on scenario planning given current market uncertainty, but this is prevented by the fact the pension industry is massively incentivised to herding, Ashmore head of research Jerome Booth said....

Global Pensions and the Principal Officers Association of South Africa last night held its annual South African pension service providers awards in Johannesburg, the Imbasa Yegolide Awards for 2010. The winners were announced at an elegant gala at the...

AUSTRALIA/CANADA - CP2 Ltd., Transurban Group's biggest shareholder, said it intends to hold onto its stake in the Australian toll-road operator and will push for boardroom changes after a bid to buy the company with two Canadian pension funds was rejected....

IRELAND - Workers' unions at the Irish Republic's biggest telecoms operator firm Eircom have approved a major pension restructuring programme, eliminating a €407m (US$502.8m) defined benefit scheme deficit at the troubled firm.

US - Account-based retirement plans for new salaried employees are increasingly replacing defined benefit plans at large US companies, a study by Towers Watson revealed.

SPAIN - The Spanish congress eked through a freeze on state pensions for 2011 by only one vote as the country implements a package of emergency measures to tackle its deficit.

US - Blackstone Group LP, the world's biggest private-equity firm, is trying to mend relations with New York City's public pension funds after strategist Byron Wien said retiree benefits were "too generous."

UK - Mohamed Al Fayed decided to sell Harrods after the pension scheme trustees refused to clear a dividend payment, it emerged yesterday.