Europe

UK - Rhodia Pension Fund has rebalanced and pared down its manager roster, appointing two new undisclosed managers. Stamford Associates assisted.

UK - The £18m Institute of Physics Retirement Benefits Plan has dumped Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) and appointed Frank Russell Company as its investment manager.

NORWAY - The approximately NOK20bn Oslo Pensionsforsikring is on the verge appointing money managers for just over NOK3bn worth of global equity mutual funds.

UK - UK pension funds' "insularity" has spared them from severe losses in wake of the collapse of US energy giant Enron, industry experts claim.

UK - Almost half of the UK's largest occupational pension schemes intend to review their investment management arrangements following the Unilever Superannuation Fund vs Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) settlement, according to a survey by SEI...

UK - Aberdeen Asset Management has acquired the Isle of Man-based offshore life assurance business of Old Mutual International (OMI), a subsidiary of Old Mutual, for £36.15m.

UK - Institutional investors are very similar in the way they question companies on corporate governance and socially responsible investment policies, a new report shows.

UK - New pension credit proposals could make occupational schemes irrelevant for many staff on lower incomes, a think-tank warns.

NORWAY - Norske Stadsbaner (NSB), the Norwegian State railway, and Aberdeen Celexa Property Investors Nordic Region have jointly created a new property investment management firm.

UK - Life companies are being warned to "tread cautiously" into the pensions market following the post-September 11 slump.