United Kingdom

UK - Paymaster has been awarded the quality management standard ISO 9001:2000 in recognition of its service standard.

UK - The slowdown in stakeholder pensions sales has continued, according to figures from the Association of British Insurers.

UK - Investment advice to pension schemes is only moderately useful and can be "useless" during market bubbles, a leading fund manager warns.

UK - Jeremy Fish has been appointed managing director of Synaptic Systems with immediate effect.

UK - A bewildering explosion of investment choices, mutating with-profits funds and poor returns are over-complicating the additional voluntary contributions market, a new survey shows.

UK/NETHERLANDS/US - Engineering giant Invensys has sold off its Dutch software solutions subsidiary Baan as part of a move to plug its debts, including a £931m (e1.3bn) pension fund deficit in the UK.

UK - Aileen Croft has been promoted to managing consultant - the most senior consultancy grade - by financial services management consultancy, Winchester White.

UK - HSBC Republic Investments is looking to offer its hedge funds to the DC market, claiming scheme members are tired of traditional managers' poor performance.

UK - Pensions ombudsman David Laverick is urging the government to set up a central discontinuance fund as mooted in its Green Paper.

UK - The shift from final salary to defined contribution provision continues unabated, the latest JPMorgan Fleming Defined Contribution Industry Survey reveals.