Global equities

PERU - AFP Integra SA, manager of Peru's second-largest private pension fund, plans to increase investment in smaller mining companies as well as the consumer goods industry as growth in returns from Peruvian stocks slows.

NEW ZEALAND - The New Zealand Superannuation Fund returned 4.42% in December 2010, up from -0.38% in the previous month, due to an increase in global equities.

The extra returns for holding shares over risk-free assets will fall by nearly one third from present levels, making a reliance on equities by pension funds "a pretty dangerous strategy", London Business School research warns.

UK institutional pension funds' equity allocation has plummeted by a fifth in the past decade - but remains the highest in the world, according to a global study.

EUROPE - Plans by the European Union to introduce Solvency II- type regulations to the pensions industry could hinder investments in real estate, delegates at the European Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV) seminar heard....

AUSTRALIA - AvSuper Fund has dropped US firm Wellington Management from its international equities mandate in favour of Independent Franchise Partnership (IFP) following a recent review.

US pension funds are showing renewed interest in global equities, Jaishree Kalia reports.

Majedie Asset Management has launched a global equity fund for institutional investors.

Schemes are continuing to reduce investment risk by shifting towards gilts and fixed interest and away from equities, data from the Purple Book reveals.

Janus Capital International has launched the Perkins Global Value Strategy for pension funds and other institutional investors.