UK - Schroders says it has been awarded a further £421m (€617m) by Countrywide Assured plc in addition to the £400m it already managers.

The brief is to invest in balanced, equity and fixed income mandates following a review of manager arrangements, Schroders said.

The new assets have been invested in balanced funds (£276m), equity funds (£18m), lifestyle funds (£20m) and cash and fixed income funds (£107m).

It said: "The new arrangements consolidate the bulk of the assets for Countrywide Assured plc with a single manager providing it with specialist investment capability in a wide range of products."

"Schroders was able to provide us with the wide range of investment skills that we required. We are pleased to be able to build on what is a successful existing relationship," said Countrywide managing director Graham Kettleborough.

"We have managed assets for Countrywide Assured for many years and are delighted to be building on this strong relationship which recognises the strength and breadth of our product range," added Schroders' institutional head Miles O'Connor.

Elsewhere, BlackRock - which is taking control of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers - has named Merrill's James Charrington and BlackRock's Rich Kushel as co-heads of international distribution and client servicing.

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