Superannuation

NEW ZEALAND - New Zealand's government is setting up a working group to study the merits of compulsory pension savings which could be debated at next year's election, Prime Minister John Key said.

AUSTRALIA - A growing number of superannuation funds are already well-placed to deal with the introduction of legislation concerning operational risk reserves, research by Mercer shows.

AUSTRALIA - Industry Superannuation Property Trust, an Australian direct property investment manager owned by pension funds, plans to create a fund focusing on residential investments by the end of the year.

AUSTRALIA - The Local Government Super (LGS) has awarded specialist environmental investment firm Impax Asset Management Group an A$50M ($46m) segregated mandate.

AUSTRALIA - Prime Minister Julia Gillard said a re-elected Labor government will allow Australia's pension industry to offer a new standardised fund recommended by a government-commissioned review.

AUSTRALIA - Energy industry superannuation fund ESI Super has split its A$800m ($718m) Australian equities portfolio between five managers.

AUSTRALIA - Businesses are growing increasingly concerned that they will be forced to fund another A$23bn (US$20.5bn) in compulsory superannuation payments.

AUSTRALIA - Australia's biggest Super funds have returned an average of just 4.5% a year over the past decade as a result of the global credit crisis, figures reveal.

NEW ZEALAND - The Guardians of the New Zealand Superannuation fund has appointed Waterman Capital to help manage its private equity investments.

AUSTRALIA - An independent and sweeping review into Australia's trillion dollar superannuation system has called for the creation of a new industry-wide default option and puts greater emphasis on governance for superannuation trustees.