United Kingdom

UK - The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) faced a wall of opposition from the pensions industry at a public meeting to discuss its proposals to overhaul the way pension fund assets and liabilities are calculated and reported.

UK - Scottish Widows has claimed it has had no contact with the company accusing it of giving negligent advice to around a hundred final salary pension schemes.

UK - Mike O'Brien, minister for pensions reform, has said the trustees of the personal accounts delivery authority (PADA) are considering offering an ethical investment option for personal accounts to be introduced in 2012.

UK - Proposals to overhaul the way pension fund assets and liabilities are calculated could be the final tipping point for DB schemes, National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) chief executive Joanne Segars has warned at a public meeting on the issue....

UK - Two charities are to lobby UK pension funds and fund managers on the risks posed by inadequate analysis of the human rights and environmental impacts of mining projects in developing countries.

UK - Paternoster has launched a quarterly affordability index for pension funds looking to buyout the risks of their defined benefits plans.

UK - The £4.3bn (US$8.45bn) Merseyside Pension Fund has placed over 10% of its assets out to tender in unconstrained UK equities strategies, including 130/30 and portable alpha.

UK - North Yorkshire County Council has placed two mandates out to tender, worth over £300m (US$589m).

UK - Global Pensions is hosting the Currency Management Forum London 2008 on Wednesday, 4 June at the Hilton London Tower Bridge Hotel.

UK - The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has welcomed energy company BG Group's agreement to set external targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions following three years of discussions.