Europe

UK - The government has announced plans to legislate to allow same-sex partners to pass on pension benefits to their survivor, giving them equal legal rights to married couples.

UK - JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management has appointed David Shairp strategist within its global multi-asset group (GMAG).

UK - The £4.5bn West Yorkshire Pension Fund is set to invest up to 5% of its assets in hedge funds to boost returns and diversify its risk.

EUROPE - Consultancy firm Watson Wyatt has lost a pension services mandate with Metso Mineral (UK) to Aon Consulting.

UK - Beleaguered US car component giant Federal Mogul has made an 11th-hour offer to avert the wind-up of the pension scheme at its UK arm.

FRANCE - The BNP Paribas Group is centralising its multi-management teams in independent investment company Cortal Consors Fund Management (CFM).

UK - Defined contribution schemes are increasingly becoming the main focus of attention for employers and trustees, new research shows.

UK - The £1.5bn Staffordshire County Council pension fund is tendering for three investment managers for its specialist UK equity and global equity portfolios following a recent investment review.

EUROPE - The French Asset Management Association (AFG - Association Français de la Gestion Financière) and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) will join the European Federation for Retirement Provision as full members on January 1.

UK - The pensions system cannot be reformed effectively unless it is removed from the political battlefield, the Pensions Management Institute claims.