Pension fund managers do not know whether they are coming or going. No sooner had some plan sponsors bitten the bullet and finally switched their equity allocations into bonds than the markets turned round and they have to start thinking about moving everything back. It may be a nightmare for plan sponsors and infuriating for portfolio managers, but for the people that manage the transitions, it is a great time to be in business.

State Street saw $250bn (€213bn) of transitions last year, 25% up on 2001 and Lachlan French, head of transition management, expects to see similar levels of growth for the next couple of years. It is a similar story at other houses. Barclays Global Investors (BGI) is heading for a record year. The London office has moved $61bn in the first three quarters. In 2001, it achieved $66bn in 12 months.