United Kingdom

UK - The Pension Protection Fund has taken onboard a call from Mercer Human Resource Consulting for the fund to take into account the financial strength of parent companies when setting the risk-based levies for subsidiary organisations.

UK - Recent market moves have "soothed" the UK pension crisis according to a UK equity strategy report compiled by Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

UK - Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has hinted that ‘soft compulsion' could be Labour's way forward in tackling the current pensions crisis.

UK - The £6.2bn Strathclyde Pension Fund is to tender for two active currency managers and one or more private equity fund of fund managers.

UK - The next two-five years will see the number of UK institutions investing private equity fall, according to a study conducted by the Centre for Management Buyout Research (CMBOR).

UK - The TUC has hit back at comments made by CBI director general Sir Digby Jones that the retirement age of public sector workers should be increased to 65, claiming there were double standards for public sector workers and their executive counterparts....

UK - Threadneedle investments has announced the appointment of Roman Gaiser to its high yield bond team. 

UK - The National Association of Pension Funds has proposed upping the state pension retirement age to 69 in a report published today.

UK - Edinburgh-based specialist investment manager, Martin Currie, has closed its UK active equity fund after it reached a pre-agreed capacity of £1.5bn.

UK - The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has signed up for Inalytics' Behavioural Performance Strategies (BPS ) tool.