United Kingdom

UK - The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) is unrepentant over FRS17, which has been cited as a factor in the closure of several defined benefit schemes.

UK - Fund managers are tentatively starting to move excess cash into equities, according to a worldwide survey undertaken by Merrill Lynch. Many managers made the switch after finding themselves with high cash balances last month, when equities appeared...

UK - The High Court has overturned a finding of maladministration by the previous pensions ombudsman against the trustees of the National Union of Seamen Officials and Employees Superannuation Fund.

UK - Significant acquisitions in the year to September 30, 2001 have led to an increase in Aberdeen Asset Management's assets under management by £12.8bn, from £21.9bn to £34.7bn.

UK - A fund manager might as well flip a coin to predict exchange rate fluctuations, according to an expert witness in the Unilever vs. Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) case. In his second day as a witness called by the pension fund in the landmark...

UK - The £14m Marshall Cavendish Pension Fund has increased Gartmore Investment Management's asset holding in the publishing fund by £2.7m.

UK - Aberdeen Asset Management has expanded its executive board with the appointment of Katherine Garrett-Cox as an executive director with immediate effect.

UK - Mellon Trust has bagged its second stakeholder administration mandate from general insurers Direct Line Life.

UK - One of Unilever's key expert witnesses took the stand and admitted that it was difficult for a fund to consistently outperform the benchmark.

UK - Mike Arnold, chairman of the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA), has called for a concerted effort by the Government and the pensions industry to curb the slide in occupational pensions.