United Kingdom

UK - The Leeds & Holbeck Staff Pension Scheme has dumped Schroder Investment Management in favour of London-based Chiswell Associates to manage its £25m scheme.

UK - Pension schemes could have their tax-approved status removed if they fail to adhere to money transfer rules.

UK - Trustees may have to justify all their actions to members following a controversial determination by the pensions ombudsman, say legal experts.

UK - Fund managers have attacked former British Telecom chairman Sir Iain Vallance after he claimed they knew even less about running a company than non-executive directors.

UK - An upsurge in shareholder activism is a direct result of the Myners' review, proxy voting agency Manifest claims.

UK/GLOBAL - AFA Systems, a global provider of software solutions for the banking and asset management industries, has launched Benefit, a web-enabled member administration system.

UK - Fund managers believe that trustees in the UK have little interest in socially responsible investments, claiming that those that do invest in them are "primarily interested in protecting their own reputations and deflecting criticism".

UK - AXA Investment Managers has set up a division to handle asset-backed securities after the market grew by nearly 45% last year.

UK - Govett Investments is diluting its holding of top-rated bonds in favour of "better value" triple-B credits.

UK - Employee benefit consultant Gissings has backed compulsory pension contributions as the answer to the current "pensions crisis".