Europe

UK - Hermes Pensions Management is still considering its position regarding its takeover bid for Edinburgh Fund Managers.

UK - The Avon Pension Fund has has sold almost its entire property portfolio, despite the asset class being the top-performer over the last two years.

UK / EUROPE - Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) has consolidated its UK and European small cap investment teams into one portfolio.

UK - Embattled fund manager Merrill Lynch has found itself in court once again - this time over a case of alleged racial discrimination.

UK - Investec Asset Management has expanded its range of products through the launch of Investec Liquidity Funds.

UK - Legal & General (L&G) Investment Management enjoyed a 4% increase in new business in 2001, bringing in £13.2bn in mandates, a result L&G chief executive David Prosser hailed as "remarkable".

UK - A growing number of small and medium-sized pension schemes are looking to hive off pension liabilities to insurers.

UK - A code of practice to tackle a legal grey area over FRS17 is being planned by the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales (ICAEW).

UK - New draft regulations on fixed term workers will push up pension scheme costs and add to administrative burdens, according to the Confederation for British Industry (CBI).

ITALY - The Italian pension fund regulator, the Commissione di Vigilanza sui Fondi Pensione (Covip), is set to give its approval to the operation of two new pension funds.