United Kingdom

UK - The monitoring of the credit market by the Financial Services Authority could improve transparency, making the market more accessible to institutional investors, according to Watson Wyatt.

UK - GE Asset Management chief executive Gavin Hill is to join Synesis Life, Isabel Hudson's pensions-liability buyout vehicle.

UK - Government actuary, Chris Daykin, has used a comparative study of global pensions systems to emphasise the importance of long term planning when implementing pension reforms.

UK - Pensions Commission chairman Adair Turner stopped short of recommending full compulsion because he feared it would be misconstrued as a tax.

UK - Watson Wyatt has seen pension funds' use of derivatives boom over the last year but a Mercer survey found the increased interest had not yet been followed through with implementation.

UK - Competition for the first National Pension Savings Scheme (NPSS) mandates could turn into a bun fight for £1bn "winner takes all" briefs, the estimated amount up for grabs at the outset, according to Pensions Commission chairman Adair Turner.

UK - Paternoster, the new DB buy-out vehicle set up by ex-Prudential chief executive Mark Wood, has been authorised by the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a life assurance company months ahead of schedule, confirming a report by Global Pensions...

UK - Bath and North East Somerset Council has tendered for an actuarial consultant for the £1.9bn Avon Pension Fund, as the fund's administering authority.

UK - Schroders has lost approximately £100 or 30% of the assets previously managed on behalf of the £310m Pennon Group Pension Scheme after a portfolio restructure which saw it move away from its multi-asset manager model.

UK - AXA Investment Managers has established a new currency management team within its fixed income business and poached two investment specialists from Barclays Global Investors (BGI) to steer the expansion of its capabilities in this area.