United Kingdom

UK - The FSA has given the investment industry until December to end soft commissions and unbundled payments for non-execution services.

UK - Mercer Human Resource Consulting's Byron West won the casino tournament at the UK Pensions Awards.

UK - Network Rail staff are expected to strike next month over the closure of their final salary scheme to new entrants.

UK - Returns on scheme funds held in with-profits accounts will tumble if plans to tighten rules on endowment policies go ahead, experts warn.

UK - Simplification proposals will do little to help stop the shift away from defined benefit provision, a new survey shows.

UK - NAPF chairman Terry Faulkner is predicting a period of further great change for the pensions industry during his second year of office.

UK - Work and pensions secretary Andrew Smith has admitted the government overestimated the security of final salary pension schemes.

UK - Former Unilever pensions manager Chris Lewin will head an industrywide steering group set up by the National Association of Pension Funds to boost standards.

UK - Quantitative equities manager Advanced Investment Partners has seen its assets under management break the $1bn (£362m) barrier.

UK - Hargreaves Lansdown's head of pension research, Tom McPhail, held on to first place at last month's UK Pension Awards after lasting the longest on the popular Bucking Broncho ride.