Europe

UK - Underperformance similar to that of the Unilever UK equity portfolio would be unlikely to happen in current conditions, leading fund managers claim.

UK - Lobby group The Industrial Society has called for government-backed mutual insurance to replace the minimum funding requirement.

GREECE - Matrix Asset Management has launched a new socially responsible energy fund targeting institutional investors.

UK - Barclays Bank UK Retirement Fund is to double its private equity exposure at the expense of equities and bonds.

UK - Life insurance companies and other with-profits offices must exercise prudence in setting annual bonus rates, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) warned yesterday.

UK - Edis Partnerships has been appointed administrator of the St Andrew's Group of Hospitals £70m defined benefit scheme.

US/UK - Ohio National Financial Services has bought Old Mutual's New York-based institutional asset management business Suffolk Capital Management for an undisclosed amount.

UK - The £904m Kodak Pension Plan has appointed Frank Russell to run a £40m global equity mandate.

EUROPE - Cern, the European organisation for nuclear research based in Geneva, has appointed MFS International, a subsidiary of MFS Investment Management, to run a CHF50m (£21.3m) active European equity mandate.

UK - Employers should shell out for staff education about defined contribution schemes or face what could be the next industry scandal over disappointing pensions, Morgan Stanley has warned.