United Kingdom

UK - Implementation of new VAT regulations which alter the 30% rebate claimed by employers on fees paid for administration of their pension schemes has been delayed on the back of industry pressure.

UK - Artemis has appointed Elaine Gordon as head of institutional client service as part of its planned expansion of its institutional business.

UK - The £650m Reuters Pension Fund has appointed The Bank of New York as its custodian as part of a wider restructure.

UK - Schroders has put net institutional outflows of £2bn in the first half of the year down to the restructuring of its business towards "higher margin products" and the move from balanced to specialist mandates.

UK - The £1.4bn Metal Box Pension Scheme has awarded PIMCO Europe a £100m bond mandate as part of an ongoing review of its entire scheme.

UK - Scandinavian Airline Systems has outsourced the entire management of its UK pension fund to SEI Investments Europe (SEI).

UK - Lazard has lost a UK pension mandate from Terra Industries to UBS Global Asset Management.

UK - Watson Wyatt has lost out to Hewitt Associates on the back of pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) decision to consolidate its existing UK defined benefit pension arrangements, with Hewitt as the sole investment consultant.

UK - Hewitt Associates has appointed Christine Farquhar from Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch in a bid to boost its fixed income capability.

UK - The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has warned it will not be rushed into making disclosures on the eventual cost of providing protection for pensions.