United Kingdom

UK - Aegon said it expected to close its first pensions buy-out deal by the first quarter of 2007, having recently announced plans to move into the space as of Monday next week.

UK - Gartmore has increased its focus on global emerging markets with two new hires as it aims to target the consumer and information technology sectors in these areas.

UK - ING Real Estate Investment Management has appointed Charles Follows as head of UK research and forecasting.

UK - Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI) has added to its global quantitative management business with the appointments of Morgan Stanley's Jason Toussaint and State Street's Joseph Molloy.

UK - Paternoster has appointed F&C Asset Management to act as its derivatives execution agent.

UK - Fund manager Governance for Owners (GO) has signed up to the Enhanced Analytics Initiative as a full member.

UK - London councils would save £34m annually if they brought their pension scheme costs down to the levels of UK metropolitan pension schemes, said a report published today by the Audit Commission.

UK - Balanced pooled funds bounced back from a poor second quarter to post a median return of 3% in Q3, a Mellon Analytical Solutions (MAS) report has found.

British Airways (BA) is to spend billions on new longhaul aircraft, despite being plagued by a £2.1bn hole in its pension scheme.

UK - Synesis Life has appointed Jane Newell, chairman of the Royal Mail Pension Plan, as a non-executive director.