Europe

UK - The recently announced changes by the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) to better align FRS17 with IAS19 have no significant consequences for pension funds, an industry expert has claimed.

UK - Paternoster announced it has taken on the pensions assets of the Cuthbert Heath Family Plan (CHFP), in a deal said to be worth around £10m.

UK - Auto strategies for defined contribution (DC) pension plans are becoming increasingly popular with UK pension funds, consultant Watson Wyatt has claimed.

FRANCE - The €29.1bn French Pensions Reserve Fund, Fonds De Reserve Pour Les Retraites (FRR) has dropped Société Générale Asset Management (SGAM) from a €331.5m US mid-cap equities mandate for performance reasons.

EUROPE - Rutley European Property Limited (REPL) is to list on the London and Channel Islands Stock Exchanges and raise up to £200m through a public share offer.

ITALY - European asset managers are continuing to charge the Italian pensions market with Raiffeisen Capital Management the latest manager to reveal plans to strengthen its offering in the region.

UK - Multi-manager IMS has begun consulting with its clients over the unbundling of the fees it pays to asset managers.

UK - Sharmila Soosaipillai has taken up the role of operational risk manager at fund of hedge funds Optimal Investment Services, owned by Santander Asset Management.

UK - The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) reported deficits of £343m (€512m) and also accepted 98 pension schemes in its first full year of operation.

UK - Will Aitken has joined Watson Wyatt as a senior consultant in its defined contribution (DC) pension business, having spent the last 10 years at Aon.