UK - The £18bn (€22.7bn) UK retirement fund of retail bank Barclays has appointed ex-F&C man Tony Broccardo as its first chief investment officer (CIO), in a bid to create "a world-class pension scheme".

Despite appointing its first CIO, the fund does not intend to change or overhaul its investment strategy with the new appointment and will not created an in-house investment team, a spokesman told IPE.

At September 30 last year, the fund had 7% allocated to UK equities, 27% to overseas equities, 18% to fixed-interest bonds, 18% to index-linked bonds, and 30% to alternatives - including property, private equity, high return bonds, hedge funds, emerging markets, commodities and cash.

Chris Lendrum, BUKRF chairman of trustees, commented in a statement today: "As the investment opportunities become more complex and market conditions are more uncertain I am pleased that the appointment of Tony will ensure we are better able to meet our investment objectives."

He added: "The fund is already a leader in its management of its £18bn portfolio and this appointment will allow us to take the management of our assets and liabilities onto the next level by enhancing the speed and flexibility of our investment decision making and enabling us to react more rapidly to market conditions."

Broccardo, a former group CIO at F&C Asset Management, was the second senior executive to leave F&C Asset Management under new chief executive Alain Grisay in 2005. (See earlier IPE story: F&C's investment chief Broccardo exits)

An F&C-spokesman told IPE this morning Broccardo's role was abolished at the time to make way for a new model which would see a new head of investments focus more on business development than under Broccardo's earlier role.

If you have any comments you would like to add to this or any other story, contact Carolyn Bandel on + 44 (0)20 7261 4622 or email carolyn.bandel@ipe.com

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