Europe

UK - Unum Provident has been ordered to pay £66,000 plus legal expenses after poor communication with scheme trustees left a widow without her full pension entitlement.

UK - Giving final salary scheme members a breakdown of contributions would be misleading, Mercer Human Resource Consulting claims.

UK - Actuaries have criticised the government for failing to reveal any precise details about how the Pensions Protection Fund will work.

UK - Plans to cut soft commissions and unbundle brokerage fees will increase costs, Baring Asset Management claims.

UK - The Isle of Man's collective fund industry grew by 8% to US$7.04bn for the year ending June 2003 buoyed by sharp growth shown by one of its schemes.

UK/EUROPE/US - US fund managers could face an asset exodus worth several billion dollars from pension funds across Europe as the impact of the US market timing scandal hits the European mutual fund industry, experts warn.

UK - Partnerships will have to overhaul their pension arrangements if the government imposes a £200,000 a year savings limit, accountants warn.

UK - The government is "very likely" to lose the lawsuit filed by unions of former ASW workers (Allied Steel & Wire) over the junking of their final salary scheme, one leading industry expert has warned.

UK/EUROPE/US - US fund managers could face an asset exodus worth several billion dollars from pension funds across Europe as the impact of the US market timing scandal hits the European mutual fund industry, experts warn.

UK - Unions are revamping their trustee training programmes to place more emphasis on socially responsible investment issues.