United Kingdom

UK - Aberdeen Property Investors is urging schemes to increase property allocations and predicts they will return approximately 7.8% per annum over the next 30 years.

UK - A Tory Bill to amend the age-75 rule has cleared the first hurdle and will now get a second reading in the Commons.

UK/US - Franklin Templeton Investments believes US equities are on the verge of an upswing, despite fears about the potential impact of war in Iraq.

UK - Pension funds have failed to produce a positive real rate of return over the last three and five-year periods, new figures show.

UK - The NAPF has dismissed a high-profile survey that shows a negative attitude from boardrooms over key elements of the Higgs Review on corporate governance.

UK - Pension scheme interest in private equity investment has risen from 21%to 30% over the last year, research by JPMorgan Fleming shows.

UK - Investec Asset Management's UK aggressive equities fund outperformed the FTSE All-Share by 6.2% for the year ending January 2003.

UK - Impending war in Iraq and the global economic outlook are preventing investors from seeing the true value of UK equities, Gartmore Investment Management claims.

UK - Aberdeen Property Investors is warning schemes that property returns will drop sharply in 2003 due to falling rents in London and southern England.

UK - FTSE Group has announced the regularly quarterly changes to the FTSE100 and other UK indices which take effect after markets close on March 21.