United Kingdom

UK - Morley Fund Management has launched a sustainability matrix which ranks FTSE100 companies according to social and environmental criteria.

UK - Mercer Human Resource Consulting is urging the Government to slash the "intolerable" red tape surrounding public and private pension provision and introduce a single tax regime.

UK - The Government is to review the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) in a move that could lead to further safeguards around occupational pensions.

UK - Christine Farnish has been appointed as the new chief executive of the National Association of Pension Fund's (NAPF), effective July 1, 2002.

UK - Annuity-based money purchase schemes could leave women with up to 15% lower returns than their male counterparts, claims the Liberal Democrats.

GLOBAL/UK - Actuarial and investment consultancy Punter Southall (Punter) - a unit of South African group Sanlam Financial - is to merge with UK-based actuarial consultants, BGJ & Co.

UK - The £417m London Borough of Haringey Pension Fund has put out its entire portfolio to tender.

UK - Equities will fare better than bonds in the current global economic climate, Standard Life Investments predicts.

UK - Alan Pickering, chairman of the European Federation of Retirement Provision (EFRP), outlined some of the recommendations in his Simplification Review, but refused to be drawn on detail.

UK - Buck Consultants is outsourcing its administration business to accountant Moore Stephens.