Europe

UK - Music publisher Boosey & Hawkes is guaranteeing to underwrite falls in its pension scheme's equity portfolio to stop trustees moving assets into gilts.

EUROPE - Dutch financial services firm ING Group and The Bank of New York have launched a new global custody service for European institutional clients called ING/BNY Securities Services.

UK - Green Paper proposals to scrap final salary vesting periods are prompting firms to rethink scheme rules.

UK - Proposals for a lifetime limit on pensions tax relief will not solve the pensions crisis, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales warns.

UK - Ernst & Young has appointed John Shipp as a senior manager to lead its dedicated pensions group on the south coast.

EUROPE - The Greek presidency of the European Commission has vowed to revisit pensions proposals for EU staff.

UK - The £670m Bedfordshire County Council Pension Fund is looking for a fund manager to run a fixed income mandate worth up to £75m.

FRANCE - The giant e13.1bn French Fonds de Réserve des Retraites (FRR) has appointed Mercer Investment Consulting to assist with its fund manager selection process which starts later this year.

UK/EUROPE - Standard Life Investments has purchased two major properties in Lisbon and Paris as part of its European Property Growth Fund.

UK - GMO won six UK equity mandates totalling more than £160m in the first quarter.