Europe

UK - The Royal College of Physicians has appointed Aon Consulting as actuarial adviser and consultant for its £4.5m defined benefit pension scheme.

UK - Legal & General Investment Management has bagged a £240m passive global equity mandate (with a UK bias) at the £430m Northumberland County Council Pension Fund.

EUROPE - Real estate specialists, LaSalle Investment Management, has launched the LaSalle Euro Growth II fund.

UK - Fund managers should brace themselves for profit margins waning by almost half should current market trends continue, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

UK - Gartmore has appointed Paul Skinner to the newly created role of head of fixed income business development.

UK - Many institutional shareholders are failing to exercise responsible ownership and should be forced to report on how they use their voting rights, according to an annual survey by Pensions Investment Research Consultants (PIRC).

UK - Global investment services firm Frank Russell has given its green light to the final form of the Myners' code.

FRANCE - Financial services group CCF has increased its stake in French institutional investment house Sinopia Asset Management by just over 15%.

UK - The £8.5m Blagden Pension Scheme will be wound up following an agreement between the scheme and the chemical company's liquidators.

UK - Schroder Property Investment Management has launched its latest property investment vehicle, Gresham Property Partners, L.P.