Europe

EUROPE - Business model alignment with Ucits IV will compel companies to improve their operating models, Ernst &Young said.

UK - Aberdeen has acquired £13.5bn (US$21.6bn) of long-only multi-manager and fund of hedge fund assets from RBS Asset Management for £84.7m.

UK - National Employment Savings Trust - NEST - has been unveiled as the new brand name for personal accounts.

EUROPE - Introducing collective defined contribution schemes would not breach European law despite one government citing it as a reason to abandon risk sharing, a lawyer said.

UK/US - American asset manager Neuberger Berman has replaced its defined contribution scheme for UK employees with a new group stakeholder arrangement.

UK - The £16bn (US$25.6bn) Barclays UK Pension Fund has appointed Nick Stacey as associate director in its manager selection team.

US - The recovery in equity markets last year helped to improve the funded status of US pension funds, adding an estimated US$180bn to balance sheets, according to a leading pensions' consultancy.

US/UK - PIMCO is reducing its holdings of UK and US government bonds because of fears over increased borrowing and the withdrawal of quantitative easing programmes.

UK/US - Aviva has acquired US equity manager River Road Asset Management as it looks to grow its institutional business and expand in the US market.

FRANCE - France's reserve fund the Fonds de Réserve (FRR) pour les Retraites has terminated Dexia Asset Management from a socially responsible investment (SRI) mandate due to poor performance.