Pension systems might have a reputation for being hamstrung by politics and bureaucracy, but it does not mean they are incapable of change. Indeed, a global survey conducted by State Street Corp. found that changes are afoot at pension funds and they are reshaping “almost every aspect” of how they are managing their investments.

In particular, five major trends were indicated by the research, which involved surveying 134 senior pension fund executives in 15 countries. According to State Street, pension systems are:

•                Increasing their risk tolerance

•                Making bigger commitments to alternative assets

•                Bringing more investment management in-house

•                Revising their relationships with outside asset managers

•                Focusing more attention on governance

About 75 percent of