United Kingdom

UK - Gissings is to hold a breakfast seminar on online pensions administration on February 24.

UK - Companies could have as little as three weeks to budget for the cost of the Pension Protection Fund, lawyers warn.

UK - Stakeholder pensions could be sold without advice from April 2005 under proposals being finalised by the Financial Services Authority.

UK - A mid-sized scheme is paying out pensions to fake members because costs of proving the fraud would be too high.

UK - Trustees considering alternative asset classes must be prepared to allocate sufficient time to education, a leading scheme manager warns.

UK - Gartmore Investment Management has signed a deal with broker UBS to unbundle commission payments to give schemes "better value for money".

UK - Kas Bank has welcomed the latest report from Paul Myners and claims electronic proxy voting should be a key part of services provided for institutional investors and fund managers.

UK - Angry fund managers have attacked Russell/Mellon CAPS over the continued and increasing inclusion of retail funds in its pooled pension fund survey.

UK - Companies must have independent financial experts on their internal audit committees to prevent Parmalat-style scandals in the UK, interim management specialists Executives Online claims.

UK - Lord Abbett has scored a coup by poaching an international equity team from Credit Suisse, an investment capability Lord Abbett did not previously possess.