United Kingdom

UK - Dexion Capital and ABN AMRO have teamed up to launch a new closed-end fund of hedge funds called Dexion Alpha Strategies.

UK - The London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA) has appointed Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) to run a £185m mandate according to the liability driven investment approach.

UK - The House of Lords has rejected KPMG's claim that it was not obligated to meet its pensions shortfall because it was a money-purchase (DC) scheme.

UK - Workers union Amicus said it would do everything in its power "to retain decent pension provision" for IBM UK employees, and accused the technology giant of closing its final salary pension scheme by the back door.

UK - Mercer Investment Consulting and Watson Wyatt have both added to their UK teams with the appointment of Danny Vassiliades and Richard Sard respectively.

UK - An Increase in the UK state retirement age from 2020 is "inevitable" according to the secretary of state for work and pensions, John Hutton.

UK - The £2.5bn Hampshire County Council pension fund has tendered for multiple managers to look after four portfolios, with available mandates worth £1.75bn.

UK - The NAPF has launched a mediation service to resolve potential conflicts of interest that could arise between companies and their pension scheme trustees under new regulations.

UK - Compliance with the European Union's seemingly "benign" portability directive could incur costs in excess of £200m if pension funds are compelled to accept transfers in.

UK - The Pension Regulator's approach to new funding rules for DB schemes could plunge 20% of UK companies into a "cash-flow crisis", ultimately nullifying the gains of a new scheme specific funding standard, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI...