United Kingdom

UK - Gissings Technology Managed Services has appointed two new client managers, Stephen Herring and Paul Tabrett (pictured).

UK - Concerns over valuations led equity long/short managers to underperform the broad market in October, according to Hennessee Group.

UK - Whitbread chairman Sir John Banham is to urge his board to provide "expert independent pension advice" for all employees.

UK - Government plans to shake-up armed forces pensions have been attacked by the House of Commons' defence committee.

UK - J Sainsbury Pensions Scheme is aggressively targeting 100,000 of its employees in a bid to try and convince them to join the company's stakeholder scheme.

UK - Schemes and their fund managers must engage with firms if they are to protect their investments effectively, Morley Fund Management said.

UK - Schemes must relax restrictions on fund manager mandates if they want to outperform and meet their liabilities, Mercer Investment Consulting claims.

UK - A conference on corporate SIPPs will be held in London on February 5.

UK - The Darwin Group - a newly formed specialist research firm - has targeted top pension funds with the aim of offering long-term analysis of FTSE100 companies.

UK - Broadcasting group BSkyB has had its credit rating raised from "junk" status despite continuing corporate governance concerns.