UK - Hewitt Associates has been appointed global corporate employee benefits adviser to the Arriva group's pension schemes worth around £750m (€1.1bn).

According to Hewitt it is the first time that the transport company has appointed a joint adviser for all of their pension schemes. Arriva could not be reached for a comment.

The group's pension funds have around 10,000 active members including involvement in the Merseyside Pension Fund, after having taken over Merseyside Transport in 2000, and also in the Railways Pension scheme.

"We were looking to appoint a proactive and innovative adviser.  Hewitt has the global breadth and integration to meet our needs and we look forward to developing our working relationship with them," Turner, company secretary at Arriva, was quoted in a Hewitt press release.

Elsewhere, the London School of Economics (LSE) has appointed Buck consultants as investment adviser to its £40m endowment fund.

Buck replaces Cambridge associates. "Every few years we revise our contracts and so we chose to tender this position," an LSE spokeswoman told IPE.

"We are delighted to be able to assist the LSE Investments Committee. Key objectives will be to provide funding for a wide range of projects whilst maintaining high standards of governance and risk control. We will focus on delivering cost-effective, innovative research and solutions," Steven While, head of investment consulting at Buck Consultants, said.

Topics