United Kingdom

UK - Deutsche Bank's exchange traded fund (ETF) subsidiary, db x-trackers, has announced the launch of two products aimed at institutional investors, offering exposure to emerging and frontier markets.

UK - Citi has appointment Satvinder Singh as head of direct custody and clearing and intermediaries in EMEA.

UK - BNY Convergex Group has opened a broker dealer in the UK to serve institutional investment clients in Europe.

UK- The aggregate funding position of defined benefit (DB) funds in the UK worsened for the third consecutive month in January, the Pension Protection Fund has estimated.

UK - The House of Commons has appointed pensions services company rpmi to provide third party administration services to the trustees of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF).

UK -The £1.5bn (US$2.9bn) Durham County Council pension fund has today announced a radical shake-up of its asset allocations, with six new mandates going live across a range of asset classes, designed to increase returns and reduce contribution rates....

UK - The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has slammed proposals from the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) to change the way liabilities are calculated and reported, describing them as a "kick in the teeth" for firms committed to defined pension...

UK - The £2.2bn (US$4.3bn) Avon Pension Fund and Bath and North East Somerset Council (Bathnes) has placed £250m of entirely new property mandates out to tender, split equally between domestic UK and overseas property.

UK - Nearly half of the FTSE 100 companies amended the mortality assumption of their pension scheme last year adding around £6bn (US$11.7bn) to the index's liabilities, according to Watson Wyatt.

UK - The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) action to impose the first Financial Support Direction (FSD) has been welcomed, although cautiously in some quarters.