United Kingdom

UK/SE. ASIA - UK fund managers have outperformed their peers in south-east Asia over the last five years, figures from ratings agency Standard & Poor's show.

UK - Logistics company Exel has confirmed it will close its £1.6bn final salary pension scheme to new members from April.

UK - The CB Hillier Parker All Property Average Yield survey was static at 7.2% over the third quarter.

UK - The £592m Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund has blamed its UK and Japanese equity managers for its underperformance.

UK - BAe Systems' seven final salary schemes will be either closed to new members or modified following a review due next month.

UK - Baillie Gifford is to let pension funds invest segregated mandates in two of its UK pooled bond funds.

UK - The Accounting Standards Board has deferred the mandatory requirement for full adoption of FRS17 until January 1, 2005.

UK - Mellon Global Alternative Investments (MGAI), a UK asset management subsidiary of US-headquartered Mellon Financial Corporation, has hired Stuart Slater as senior research analyst.

UK - The government is facing a test case over whether it is liable to pay the pensions of employees with insolvent employers.

UK - New international accounting rules will be fundamentally the same as FRS17, delegates at the recent NAPF autumn conference were warned.