United Kingdom

The Merseyside Pension Fund and the London Borough of Lambeth Superannuation Fund have appointed numerous consultancy firms to advise them on different aspects of their fund management.

UK - The pension buyout market could be worth £10bn (US$19.5bn) by the end of the year, according to Aon.

UK - The £9.8bn (US$19bn) Strathclyde Pension Fund announced it has reappointed Northern Trust as master custodian.

UK - A windfall of £300m could befall the pensions industry if a case against HM Revenue & Customs over VAT payments is successful.

UK public funds could be missing out on millions in compensation through non-participation in US-based class action lawsuits, according to industry insiders.

US - Demands by the US$164bn California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) for ONEOK to report on greenhouse gas emissions have been supported by RiskMetrics Group.

UK - The pension fund buyout market will continue to grow rapidly as insurance companies invest the assets they take over more cleverly and increased competition forces prices down, according to Lane, Clark and Peacock (LCP).

UK - Changes to pension fund details can be sent to the Pensions Regulator (TPR) instantly with the launch of its online tool 'Exchange'.

UK - AEGON UK posted disappointing Q1 results with a 63% fall in institutional asset management business compared to the same period last year.

UK - The £30bn (US$58.7bn) Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has announced a substantial allocation to Climate Change Capital (CCC).