United Kingdom

UK - Pension scheme trustees must make equities work harder and consider diversifying into alternative assets, Schroders says.

UK - Hazell Carr Pensions Consulting has appointed Alan Smith as head of actuarial services.

UK - Workers at Smiths Group are set to strike next month over plans to close the company's final salary scheme to existing members.

UK - OPRA has come under fire for dragging its feet over the implementation of a system to reduce the number of minor reports it receives.

UK/EU - A controversial European directive will increase costs for pension providers and financial advisers by more than £1bn a year if passed, according to industry experts.

UK - The £232m London Borough of Havering Pension Fund has appointed Psolve as its investment consultant.

UK - Manager-of-managers specialists SEI Investments and Attica Asset Management are both set to enter the DC market.

UK - Insight Investment has been awarded a mandate to manage £9m in fixed income assets for the Windsor Pension and Life Assurance Scheme.

UK - Boardrooms will come under greater scrutiny when the new combined code on corporate governance comes into effect on Saturday, but a handful of breaches are expected.

UK - More than 22,000 companies are expected to go bust before the government introduces its Pension Protection Fund, sparking fears that thousands more workers will lose benefits.