Europe

UK/EUROPE - Gartmore has launched a fund of hedge fund business aimed at the UK pension fund market.

UK - The role of equities in pension funds will be questioned at Fidelity Investments' institutional client conference today.

SWEDEN//FINLAND - Schroder Investment Management has appointed Viggo Johansen as sales manager for Sweden and Finland.

UK - Liverpool Victoria has increased the flexibility of its with-profits pension annuity allowing policy-holders to convert from a with-profits to a conventional annuity.

UK - Goldman Sachs has closed its private equity fund, GS Private Equity Partners 2002, at US$1.2bn (£771.6m).

UK - A legal challenge to IBM's use of its pension fund "surplus" may have been dashed by falls in stock market values.

UK - Balanced pooled funds had their worst quarter since 1987, HSBC's IMAGE survey shows.

UK - The £700m Suffolk County Council Pension Fund has become the latest regional scheme to look for private equity managers following recommendations in the Myners Report.

UK - HSBC Asset Management has appointed Geoff Cheetham as head of UK institutional business development.

UK - Increasing uncertainty in equity markets is likely to trigger further falls in annuity rates, the Annuity Bureau warns.