Global equities

GLOBAL - Pension funds should be investing at least 50% of their assets in emerging markets, Ashmore head of research Jerome Booth suggests.

Japanese fund house Chuo Mitsui and Standard Life Investments have partnered to cross-manage funds worth $2.2bn (£1.4bn).

Balanced pooled funds ended their run of positive quarters with a negative return of -8.9% for Q2 of this year, statistics show.

PERU - Peru's central bank will probably raise the limit on how much private pension funds can invest abroad to 30% from 28% "very soon," said Alejandro Perez-Reyes, investment manager at Peru's second- largest private pension fund AFP Prima.

Balanced pooled funds recorded a negative month on month median return of -4.5% last month, BNY Mellon Asset Servicing results show.

Malaysia - The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) recorded an investment income of RM5.55bn (US$1.7bn) for the first quarter of 2010 (Q1 2010) on the back of the recovering global economic and financial crisis.

Netherlands - Dutch pension funds returned to pre-crisis levels over the first quarter of 2010 after realising €32bn (US$39.5bn) in price and exchange rate gains on their investment portfolios, research shows.

Global equities offer schemes increased potential for enhanced returns over domestic or regional equities, BlackRock says.

Pension funds are continuing to diversify into riskier assets, with interest in private markets likely to increase in the short to mid-term, bfinance says.

EUROPE - Pension funds are continuing to diversify into riskier assets, with interest in private markets likely to increase in the short to mid-term, bfinance said.