UK - Merseyside pension fund has hired Aon Hewitt to appoint managers for mandates totalling £1.3bn (€1.5bn), accounting for close to 30% of the scheme's £4.7bn in assets.

The three tenders, for a £576m index-linked gilts fund, a £384m UK equity fund, as well as an £384m US equity fund. Will be managed passively on a four-year contract, with a possible two-year extension.

Pension fund head Peter Wallach confirmed that passive management remained a "key element of the fund's strategic allocation of its risk budget".

He added that the appointed manager would be expected to play UN Principles for Responsible Investment across the portfolio. The announcement follows a decision made in the last year to incorporate ESG across the scheme's emerging market investments.

Last month the pension scheme announced it was looking to appoint an investment consultant to advise on asset allocation, benchmarking and market issues that could impact the scheme. Consultants hired to select managers will be excluded from the tender.

Meanwhile, 61% of UK pension scheme managers and trustees surveyed by Aon Hewitt view their pension administration service as "efficient".

A further 37% branded their administration procedures "reliable", with shy of a third settling for "engaged".

The poll of 91 schemes conducted last November found that 26% of respondents believed the service they used offered value for money, with only 7% describing the service as expensive.

Benefit administration sales director Colin Hamilton said the figures reflected good work being done by individual providers to improve performance and the member experience.

However, he added: "While these statistics are encouraging - particularly to those providers who have taken measures to adapt their working methods and improve standards - we should not treat them as evidence of widespread satisfaction across our industry."

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