UK – The Highland Council pension fund in Scotland has appointed Alliance Bernstein, Fidelity Investments and Schroder Investment Managers as Insight Investment loses its 300 million pound (435 million euro) mandate.

Alliance Bernstein has been awarded a 100 million pound (145 million euro) global equity mandate. Fidelity will manage a 60 million pound (87 million euro) UK bond mandate, and Schroder will manage a 40 million pound (58 million euro) UK real estate mandate.

The money originally formed part of a 300 million pound balanced mandate managed by Insight Investments. Roger Niven, investment officer at the council said: “The decision to terminate Insight’s_mandate was taken in 2002 when Rothschild put the asset management business up for sale. Highland did not want to suffer the uncertainty of corporate change.”

The decision to switch out of a balanced approach and into a specialist approach was “in accordance with best practice as recommended in the Myners report”.

Baillie Gifford, which previously managed a balanced mandate for Highland, will now run the 120 million pound (174 million euro) portfolio in global equities with a UK bias.

Legal & General has been retained as manager of a 80 million pound (116 million euro) passive UK equity brief.

Elsewhere, Lincolnshire County Council has appointed Morley Fund Managers for a 100 million pound fixed income mandate. The London Borough of Brent has appointed the London Pension Fund Authority as scheme administrator for its 1.96 billion pound fund.

The Clwyd pension fund is tendering for managers for a US equity mandate and a European equities mandate.