UK - JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services says it has bagged more than $30bn (€23.4bn, £15.8bn) of new UK pension fund custody assets in the last six months.

This was driven by mandate wins at four "household name" schemes, said Benjie Fraser, senior vice president at JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services, although he declined to name the clients.

A factor in the new business wins was the bank's expertise in alternatives investments such as hedge funds and derivatives, he added.

Fraser, the former Bank of New York and State Street executive who joined JP Morgan earlier this year, said some of the deals reflect a significant push by pension clients into these new areas.

One unnamed multi-billion-pound scheme was planning to put 50% of its assets into derivatives.

"We're definitely winning accounts," Fraser said. One of the reasons was an increased focus on talking with investment consultants, who Fraser reckons are now becoming as strong in custody as asset management.

The bank now has a dedicated unit dealing with consultants. And it's made key hires such as former Watson Wyatt European consulting head Kevin Carter. Fraser also said the bank recently hired another former Watson consultant, Alkesh Shah, as well as two relationship managers,

Elsewhere, Ian Ratoff has been appointed as the Bank of New York's new vice president to its London-based European pension custody sales team. He joins from BNP Paribas Securities Services.

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