United Kingdom

UK - Barclays Bank UK Retirement Fund is to double its private equity exposure at the expense of equities and bonds.

UK - Life insurance companies and other with-profits offices must exercise prudence in setting annual bonus rates, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) warned yesterday.

UK - Edis Partnerships has been appointed administrator of the St Andrew's Group of Hospitals £70m defined benefit scheme.

US/UK - Ohio National Financial Services has bought Old Mutual's New York-based institutional asset management business Suffolk Capital Management for an undisclosed amount.

UK - The £904m Kodak Pension Plan has appointed Frank Russell to run a £40m global equity mandate.

UK - Employers should shell out for staff education about defined contribution schemes or face what could be the next industry scandal over disappointing pensions, Morgan Stanley has warned.

UK - Consultants William M Mercer has hired Rosie Lacey as a senior communication consultant.

UK - Fund managers could be making ‘subjective evaluations' for up to 60% of a company's value, according to a report by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

UK - London-based Morley Fund Management has hired David Tremblay as global chief operating officer.

UK - Threadneedle Investment posted an encouraging £800m worth of UK institutional business since the start of the year.