UK - Isle of Wight council has appointed four new investment managers for their local government pension scheme, meanwhile Babcock International is merging its defined contribution (DC) schemes with the help of Friends Provident.

In October 2008, the Isle of Wight council said it was seeking five investment managers for a range of investment mandates including active bond and equity portfolios. (See earlier IPE article: Isle of Wight overhauls fund management)

It has now confirmed the appointment of Majedie Asset Management and Schroder Investment Management to run active UK equity portfolios, while Newton Investment management received an active global equity contract. Schroders was also successful in obtaining the active bond mandate.

Figures from the latest statement of accounts to 31 March 2009 showed the value of the pension fund had dropped 18.6% to £210m, as a result of the global economic crisis and the fall in market values. It noted that its funding level at the end of March 2009 was estimated to be 55%, down from 69% in 2008.

Elsewhere, Babcock International, which recently completed the third tranche of longevity swaps for its defined benefit (DB) schemes, has confirmed it is merging its existing DC plans into one scheme. (See earlier IPE article: Trustees advised to check impact of longevity hedge on buyout)

Andrew Birkett, group pensions manager at Babcock International, said because of a number of acquisitions the group was running over a dozen different DC schemes, so it had decided to "consolidate all of them into one of our existing trust-based schemes which would offer our members some quality investment options at very competitive prices".

Friends Provident has been appointed to provide the trust-based scheme, which will see all new employees and those that are already members of an existing DC scheme transferred into the new arrangement. Bringing the total membership to almost 5,000.

The existing unbundled DC schemes and contract-based schemes will be consolidated, with Friends Provident providing "risk-rated, blended funds" for Babcock employees in the new arrangement. It suggested these bespoke funds would offer a straightforward fund choice, while also offering online access to a further range of selected funds.

Birkett added: "We wanted access on line with the ability for our members to be able to switch existing funds or their future contributions easily. We achieved this with the help and flexibility of Friends Provident to shape the scheme to be one that meets our needs."

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