Global

Awareness of stakeholder pensions has leapt from a quarter to 40% amongst small businesses, according to the second Marks & Spencer's Financial Services stakeholder barometer.

The University of California's Board of Regent's has appointed David Russ as its new treasurer and vice president of investments.

Social security secretary Alistair Darling held a strategic meeting with a number of key stakeholder providers - including Prudential and Legal & General - to discuss the launch of the government's much-hyped flagship pension plan.

Royal Trust Global Securities has been appointed by CI Mutual Funds, Canada's ninth-largest fund company, to provide fund accounting and custody services for CI's C$23bn (£10.2bn) portfolio of funds.

Zurich Scudder Investments has appointed Merrill Lynch Investment Managers' Colin Robertson as its new European head of global strategy.

Maine's state retirement system has lost an estimated $500m as a result of the downturn on Wall Street and is now considering a review of its entire asset allocation structure.

Schroders, the London-based international asset management group, has been appointed by the Seventh Swedish National Pension Fund, (AP 7), to manage assets of approximately SEK 400m (£27m).

Clerical Medical has added two new products to their ‘mono' charge FutureProof pensions range in the UK.

New Jersey's state employee's pension fund has lost $8bn since June, according to a spokesman for the states Division of Investment, which runs New Jersey's state pension funds.

Legal & General has marked the launch of stakeholder pensions by signing an exclusive deal with StakeholderPensions.com.