United Kingdom

UK - Local authority pension funds have may be approached as possible sources of capital to rebuild and renovate school buildings, Partnership for Schools (PfS) has confirmed.

UK - The Marathon Club - a collaboration of investment organisations, representing combined fund assets in excess of £170bn - has updated its practical guidance for trustees with a paper on long term responsible ownership.

UK - The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has appointed former Noriwch Union director David Heslop as its chief operating officer.

UK - BAE Systems will have to inject more than £500m into its pension schemes this year after its deficit ballooned to £4.2bn, company reports reveal.

UK - The prime minister has ordered a major review of MPs' pension arrangements which could see the defined benefit scheme switched to defined contribution.

UK - The National Association of Pension Funds has updated its corporate governance policy and voting guidelines ahead of the 2009 annual general meeting season.

UK - Three more schemes entered the Pension Protection Fund during last month, resulting in a further 745 people around the UK receiving compensation either now or in the future, the PPF reveals.

UK - Standard Life has agreed to compensate around 97,000 customers who lost out when its Pension Sterling Fund fell by 4.8% last month.

UK - The £1bn (US$1.47bn) Oxfordshire County Council pension fund has appointed Peter Davies as independent adviser to the scheme.

UK - Pension funds have huge and unrealised potential to influence the corporate governance of the companies they invest in, Hermes Equity Ownership Services chief executive Colin Melvin claims.