30/1/2009
By Sophie Baker
Scottish Widows has been selected to provide a group pension scheme to Lothian Buses. Under the new scheme, which will be brokered by HSBC Actuaries and Consultants' specialist defined contribution team, all eligible employees will be offered a matching employer contribution and have access to online services, which will allow them to manage their pension online.
Powys Pension Fund has announced that it has selected Hewitt Associates as investment adviser. The governing body for one of the Principal areas of Wales has over 11,000 members, including deferred members and pensioners, and holds approximately £280million in assets.
Zurich has announced it has been named as the service provider for Royal Mail Group's new defined contribution pension scheme, effective immediately. The appointment follows a competitive tender process for administration and investment management services to the new plan, which is open to employees joining the Royal Mail Group from April 2008, and contributions will be accepted from April 2009. Around 9,000 new entrants are anticipated each year, making the scheme one of the largest of its kind in the UK going forwards.
RCM has been chosen by Kentucky Fried Chicken Pension Trust Limited to manage a Global Equity High Alpha mandate, valued at £17million. The investment will be made via the RCM Global Equity High Alpha fund, which is domiciled in Dublin and is part of the RCM Global Series Fund plc. RCM is the specialist global equity company with Allianz Global Investors.
Alexander Forbes Financial Services has been appointed by Ratcliff Palfinger Ltd, a Ratcliff Group Company prior to its acquisition by Palfinger AG. The contract with AFFS involves winding-up a CIMP, the implementation of a replacement GPP with Xtrapay (Alexander Forbes' employee benefits platform), and communication to the 170 employees across both sites.
The Avon Pension Fund, which is administered by Bath and North East Somerset Council, has appointed Schroders to manage a £90m UK property multi-manager mandate. The scheme will gain exposure in the UK property market through selected core, value-added and opportunistic property funds over the next two years.
Cardano has been appointed by the Trustees of the Asda Group Pension Scheme to take responsibility for managing the overall relationship between the Scheme's assets and liabilities for part of the Scheme's assets. The £1bn Scheme will also hand responsibility for providing advice on all aspects of its remaining assets to Cardano.
Ignis has won a mandate to manage a US$100m segregated portfolio of Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) equities on behalf of Russell Investments. The mandate is the second to be awarded to the Ignis Asia Pacific team in recent weeks, following a US$57m portfolio from a major international bank.
London-based high-alpha specialist Sourcecap International has won two mandates worth a total of $30m from a leading European multi-manager firm. The mandates are for European ex-UK equities, and will be managed as part of Sourcecap's European Alpha strategy. Sourcecap now has assets under management of almost $400m.
Punter Southall's Birmingham, UK office has been awarded a hat-trick of mandates in just one week. The trustee board of Rheidol has appointed the firm to provide actuarial and investment advice to a new defined benefit (DB) scheme created for the Rheidol Hydro-electricity Power Station, owned by Statkraft Energy Ltd. Meanwhile, QVF Process Systems Ltd and the Birmingham Assay Office have also awarded Punter Southall with the responsibility of providing them with administration, communications and investment advice.
Standard Life Investments has won a £90m UK equity portfolio from Fujitsu Services' defined benefit pension schemes. The assets will be managed within Standard Life Investments' Institutional UK Equity Select Pooled Pension Fund, and will be managed by David Cumming, head of UK Equities.
Northern Trust has been named global custodian for Labourers' Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada. The $1.9bn mandate will see Northern Trust provide custody and related services for more than 39,000 members, and over 13,000 pensioners and beneficiaries.
Other stories you may find of interest:
Hewitt and Aon to merge
Hewitt Associates is to merge with Aon Consulting to create a new giant consultant. Following an agreement by both boards of directors, Hewitt will join with the subsidiary of the Aon Corporation
