Europe

UK - There is an "overwhelming consensus" among the industry that costs in defined contribution schemes should be clear, simple and comparable, the UK Pensions Regulator says.

Schroders' head of UK equities Richard Buxton said there are opportunities in the UK retail space despite the challenging year for the high street, thanks to depressed valuations.

UK - Cardano has made four additions to its client team, hiring staff from rival consultancy firms P-Solve, Towers Watson, Mercer and Aon Hewitt, to meet increased client demand.

EUROPE - M&G Investments has closed its Real Estate Debt fund with €343m ($491m) of institutional investor commitments.

Fiduciary management has been embraced by the Netherlands with around 90% of assets under management placed in a fiduciary contract. This is in stark contrast to the second biggest market - the UK - where take up is barely 10%. Andrew Short compares both...

In the third of a three-part series on the sustainability of pensions in the UK, Con Keating, head of research at Brighton Rock Group, discusses regulation

UK - Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has appointed Aberdeen Asset Management's Nick Griffiths as head of global rates.

PORTUGAL - Moody's has downgraded Portuguese debt to 'junk' status on fears it will need a second bail out just months after it received €78bn ($112bn).

GERMANY - Germany, once widely regarded as the European nation most inimical to hedge funds, is now warming to the sector with allocators across the spectrum considering or actually making investments.

UK - Towers Watson has combined its three investment research teams into one group in a bid to uncover new investment opportunities.