United Kingdom

UK/Global - London-based Veritas Asset Management is wooing pension funds into its global equity strategy, which is currently dominated by retail investors.

UK - Deregulatory easements making it easier for final salary schemes to function must be met with employer promises to keep schemes open, pensions minister Angela Eagle said.

UK/US - The Bank of New York Mellon will acquire Insight Investment Management from Lloyds Banking Group for £235m (US$387.2m) and aims to make the UK-focused firm a more international player.

UK - Sales of enhanced annuities rose to £448m (US$739.5m) in the second quarter of this year, bringing the total sales in the first half of 2009 to £891m, Watson Wyatt research revealed.

UK - Friends Provident's board has recommended shareholders accept the latest acquisition offer from Resolution.

UK - More than nine-tenths of senior industry figures expect "unsustainable" defined benefit schemes to continue to close to existing members because of cost pressures on sponsoring employers, latest Penrose Financial research revealed.

UK - Barclays could modify its plans to close its final salary scheme to future accruals in a bid to address the concerns of thousands of workers.

UK - Railpen Investments - which manages the assets of the Railways Pension Scheme -has invested £65m (US$109.3m) in a global long/short equity fund of hedge funds run by Goodhart Partners.

UK - ITV is consulting over changes to its scheme - including capping the growth of pensionable salary - in a bid to reduce its pension scheme deficit of £538m (US$905.4m).

UK - The value of DIY buy-in and longevity hedge deals struck during 2009 was almost double that of traditional buy-out / buy-in deals during the same period, latest research reveals.