UK - The £2bn (€2.98bn) Lothian Pension scheme has appointed three new fund managers to run a total of £380m in global and Europe (ex-UK) equities.

It has named Wellington to run around £200m in global equities with a fixed, five-year contract starting on July 1, benchmarked against the FTSE Developed World Index.

The fund said the change was made "due to internal changes within the current investment manager". A spokeswoman said the incumbent manager was Bank of Ireland, which has been hit by the departure of key staff and asset withdrawals.

She added said: "Wellington is a significant global fund manager with an extensive and experienced research base backed by a consistent long-term track record, which matches the Fund's objectives in this area." It In the case of Europe (excluding UK) equities, this has coincided with the natural end of the existing managers' contracts.

For European (ex-UK) equities, it has retained BlackRock for £70m and AXA Rosenberg for £110m - both benchmarked against the FTSE Europe ex-UK index. Both are fixed, five-year contracts commencing next month. AXA replaced Bank of Ireland.

"AXA Rosenburg's diversified and systematic approach matches well with the high conviction and fundamental drive of the Black Rock process," the spokeswoman added. There was no consultant involved in the decision.

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