Europe

UK - The £1.4bn (US$2.79) Cambridgeshire County Council pension fund has awarded State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) a £140m passive equity mandate, following a reshuffle due to manager underperformance.

UK - The union Unite is to scrutinise the actions of pension fund managers to ensure private equity investments do not result in job losses or benefit cuts for its members.

UK - Amendments to the UK Pensions Bill will 'kill off' investments in businesses with defined benefit schemes, Simon Walker, chief executive of the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) has claimed.

EUROPE - The debate on the leading location to domicile pan-European pensions has been reignited following the release of a prospectus by the Belgian government promoting the country.

UK - The £330m (US$660m) London Borough of Kingston upon Thames pension fund has tendered for a transition manager.

UK - Pension fund buyout company Pension Corporation has taken over competitor Synesis Life, a source close to the deal confirmed to Global Pensions.

UK - Over 40% of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are expected to have closed to future accrual within the next five to 10 years, up from the current 6%, Watson Wyatt has found.

UK - Figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reveal many pensioners are living on modest incomes, while rising inflation continues to add to the financial pressures faced by retirees.

EUROPE - HSBC quant specialist, Sinopia, has launched the first emerging market inflation-linked bond (ILB) fund for European investors.

UK - Falkirk council pension fund has tendered for a passive manager for a mandate worth between £150m-£325m.