Europe

UK - Schemes and employers have attacked government moves to widen the Pension Protection Fund and virtually make it retrospective.

UK - Baring Asset Management has appointed Gerry Ng managing director, head of sales business development and client service for Asia.

DENMARK - Five major Danish pension funds have joined forces to create the "Danish Real Estate Club" - a new investment vehicle targeting the European indirect real estate market.

UK - Merill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) has appointed Gavin Corr (pictured) to manage European Equity funds with a retail focus.

UK - The Conservatives and the National Association of Pension Funds are backing the campaign for a permanent pensions commission.

UK - Russell/Mellon has hired Euan MacLaren from State Street Bank & Trust as client relationship manager for financial institutions.

UK - The £20bn Universities Superannuation Scheme and fund managers RCM and BNP Paribas Asset Management have issued guidelines to help investors evaluate broker performance.

UK - The Financial Services Authority has published a supplementary policy statement to assist the industry as it strives to find a market-based solution to the transparency and accountability issues raised by soft and bundled brokerage commissions.

UK - Schemes are undergoing a massive shift from equities to bonds in a bid to diversify their portfolios, Legal & General Investment Management claims.

UK - Nordic Financial Systems (NFS) has responded to increased customer demand for its technical and business integration services to the treasury industry in Asia with the appointment of Christopher Jürss as senior technical consultant.