United Kingdom

UK - Friends Provident is shedding 180 jobs following the Financial Services Authority's decision to changes rules on direct distribution.

UK - Fund managers believe that a crackdown by regulators on commission practices, including soft commission and bundling, will not improve performance for clients, who will bear the brunt of massive cost pressures.

UK - Consultants are to be rated under new plans from ratings agency Standard & Poor's and performance measurement specialist the WM Company, IPN's sister publication, Professional Pensions, has learned.

UK - Baring Asset Management has strengthened its global sector resources by appointing Alexandra Harries as director and senior investment analyst. 

UK - The £600m Somerset County Council Pension Fund is moving to specialist management and has put virtually all of its assets out to tender.

UK - Karin Russell-Wiederkehr has joined Bank of New York's securities group as managing director and head of G-Port European sales, based in London.

UK - Pension schemes have seen returns of nearly 10% in the second quarter of 2003, latest research from the WM Company shows.

UK - Mercer has formed a new global practice focused on HR technology and operations consulting.

UK - Company sponsored defined benefit pension schemes should not invest in equities.

UK - Government plans to give workers a "cash carrot" if they work until they are 70 have been dismissed as a gimmick by industry leaders. Pensions experts say the proposal - unveiled at the Labour Party conference - will add unnecessary complexity to...