Belgium

BELGIUM - Last year was a record negative year for Belgian pension fund returns, according to the results of a survey from the Belgian Association of Pension Funds (BAPF).

BELGIUM - Belgian corporates are being urged to reassess their pension arrangements in the wake of the so-called Vandenbroucke Law.

NETHERLANDS/BELGIUM - Fortis Investment Management (FIM), the Dutch-Belgian financial services firm, posted a 7% decline in first quarter revenues and a 15% drop in net operating profits compared to the same period last year.

BELGIUM - JPMorgan Investor Services has been appointed by AXA Investment Managers as information and paying agent in Belgium and the Netherlands for its E258m range of exchange traded funds it now wishes to distribute across Europe.

BELGIUM - The weighted average return for Belgian pension funds was -12.11% in 2002, according to provisional financial results from the Belgian Association of Pension Funds (ABFP).

BELGIUM/FRANCE - Euroclear France, the world's largest settlement system, has launched Europe's first automated processing service for Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) in the primary market.

BELGIUM/NETHERLANDS - JPMorgan Investor Services has been appointed by AXA Investment Managers as information and paying agent in Belgium and the Netherlands for its E258m range of exchange traded funds it now wishes to distribute across Europe.

BELGIUM - Dutch financial service firm ABN AMRO is looking to grab some 5% of the Belgian pensions market with the launch of a new firm.

BELGIUM - VKG, the 18,000-member pension fund for doctors, dentists and pharmacists, decided to buck the Belgian trend and shift away from equities.

BELGIUM - Belgian pensions funds have kept their nerve amid falling equity markets and seem to be sticking to their allocations.