United Kingdom

UK - Supermarket giant J. Sainsbury and chemicals manufacturer ICI are raising contributions to their money purchase schemes substantially to boost member take-up.

SCOTLAND - The £600m Fife Council Superannuation Fund has appointed Northern Trust as its global custodian.

UK - More workers will lose out when firms go bankrupt because ministers are dragging their heels over changes to creditor priority orders, actuaries warn.

UK - The £2.5bn Merseyside Pension Fund has appointed six external fund managers to run approximately 70% of its assets.

UK - The Sunderland Area Regeneration Company has snubbed its regional pension authority and opted for the West Midland Metropolitan Authorities Pension Fund to manage its scheme.

UK - The National Association of Pension Funds is making radical changes to its voting system following complaints from smaller schemes, IPN's sister publication Professional Pensions has learned.

UK - The £6.7bn Imperial Chemical Industries ICI Pension Fund has appointed Ashmore Investment Management to run a £60m emerging market debt mandate.

SCOTLAND - The £400m Highland Council Pension Fund has hired Schroder Property Investment Management to run a £40m property fund-of-funds.

UK - Active Value Investors - a subsidiary of Aberdeen Asset Management - has been taken over in a management buyout.

UK - The £1.2bn Devon County Council Pension Fund has gone out to tender for four index-tracking mandates worth a total of £456m.