Pension funds activism as shareholders was "conspicuous by its absence" during the crisis but more engagement by schemes could have made things worse, an academic claims.

GLOBAL - Private equity funds managed to post positive returns of 15% for 2009 despite a slow start to the year, data from State Street revealed.

FRANCE - President Nicolas Sarkozy's party Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) confirmed its plans to increase retirement age and the years of contribution needed to qualify for a pension in France.

EUROPE - European investors show increasing concern on euro-denominated government debt due to recent market events and the pressure on the single currency, a survey by Fitch Ratings found.

GLOBAL - Pension funds activism as shareholders was "conspicuous by its absence" during the crisis but more engagement by schemes could have made things worse, an academic claimed.

ITALY - The €5.2bn (US$6.4bn) Fondo Cometa has hired nine managers and completed the renewal of mandates for its Monetario Plus, Reddito and Crescita sub-funds due to expire this year.

UK/NETHERLANDS - Royal Bank of Scotland is nearing a deal to sell its European private equity portfolio to Alpinvest, a Dutch private equity fund owned by pension investors APG and PGGM, a person close to matter said.

GLOBAL - Mellon Transition Management managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Tim Wilkinson has decided to leave the company to pursue other interests.

Mellon Transition Management managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Tim Wilkinson has decided to leave the company to pursue other interests.

US - More than half of state pension funds are at risk of becoming insolvent in less than a decade and the resulting cost to the federal government could top the bailout of the US financial system, a new study said.