Europe

UK - Bank of Ireland Asset Management has won a global equity brief from the £1.5bn Tesco Pension Scheme.

EUROPE - The Irish pensions regulator, the Irish Pensions Board, is relaxing its rules on pension fund shortfalls.

EUROPE - In Belgium a new sectorwide fund for workers in the food distribution industry will be established from April this year.

UK - Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has dropped AMP as administrator to its defined contribution platform.

UK - Two of the UK's largest pension schemes are considering allocations to hedge funds.

UK - The CAMRA Database, which allows investors to search for extensive statistical information on asset managers' products, company profiles including their investment process and custodial arrangements and fees, can now be accessed online at www.camradata.com....

UK - The Czech government has revealed plans to set up a notional defined contribution scheme for its first pillar pensions in the mould of the Swedish system.

UK - Mercer Human Resource Consulting has confirmed up to 135 redundancies within its pension administration and consulting practices.

EUROPE - Mellon Global Securities Services has appointed Cathy Kinsella (pictured) as trustee manager for its trustee business in Ireland.

EUROPE - Fund managers will have to assess the impacts of pollution and climate change in considering which companies to invest in, according to industry experts speaking at a recent conference.