United Kingdom

UK - The Medical Protection Society Pension fund has appointed State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) to provide custody and transition management services for portfolios worth £460m.

UK - Jarvis Investment Management's first half turnover soared 80% - rising from £704,000 to £1.2m.

UK - The sea-change in pension design which accounting standard FRS17 triggered in the UK is set to be repeated throughout Europe, Watson Wyatt claims.

UK - Pension funds concerned at low growth prospects for the FTSE100 are being targeted by an index fund launched by Nvesta.

UK - Equity increases have boosted J Sainsbury Pension and Death Benefit Scheme assets from £1.8bn to £2.1bn.

UK - Royal & SunAlliance has withdrawn completely from the UK life and pensions market after selling its operations to Resolution Life for a total of £850m.

UK - A new service which allows foreign workers in UK companies to scrutinise offshore trust providers has been launched by Global Wealth Management.

UK - The £1bn Environment Agency Pension Fund is urging bond managers to be "imaginative" in their submissions for the £135m mandate it has tendered.

UK - Consultant Watson Wyatt has said that unfunded public sector pension liabilities are around £580bn, over 50% higher than the most recently published official estimate.

UK - "Insensitive" schemes and poor administrators have been lambasted by pensions ombudsman David Laverick.