United Kingdom

UK - Syndicate Asset Management (SAM), the AIM specialist fund management group, has today announced it will buy Savoy Asset Management for £17m in cash.

UK - F&C CFO Ian Paterson Brown will leave the company "by mutual agreement" after the Annual General Meeting in May, becoming the second to leave as part of CEO Alain Grisay's management reshuffle.

UK - Pension schemes in the UK have increased their investments in more diverse assets including hedge funds and commodities, according to the latest NAPF Annual Survey 2005.

UK - Bank of Ireland has ranked bottom of Mellon Analytical Solutions' balanced fund universe for 2005, returning 15.8% against a balanced median return of 21.6%.

UK - Erik Bernhardt has been appointed as an associate director by the fund of hedge fund investment manager Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO).

UK - Institutional investors in the UK plan to decrease their use of full-service broker research in favour of independent research after the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) new rules on bundled brokerage and soft commission arrangements are fully...

UK - Scottish and Newcastle (S&N) has announced plans to retain its final salary scheme for existing members, however from April they will be required for the first time to contribute to the scheme.

UK - The £1.3bn Environment Agency pension fund has tendered a £400m active currency overlay management mandate and a £50m active emerging markets equity mandate.

UK - Independent Trustee Services (ITS) has been appointed as professional trustee to the £35m Morgan Sindall Retirement Benefits Plan.

UK - ABN AMRO Asset Management is to acquire US$2.6bn fund of hedge funds manager International Asset Management (IAM).