GLOBAL - Investec Asset Management has been appointed to sub-advise a newly launched emerging markets debt fund by Denmark's Nykredit Asset Management.
 
The fund, launched this week, will be managed by Investec's emerging market debt team using its proprietary investment process for locally denominated emerging market debt and currencies.

Claus Bilde, head of manager selection at Nykredit, said: "Key differentiators for Investec include the firm's deep-rooted experience of investing in emerging and frontier markets based upon its foundations in South Africa, that the investment process has been built from scratch by an experienced team and that the investment process is thorough and structured, combining both bottom-up and top-down analysis with an embedded risk overlay."

In other news, BAA Pension Trust, acting as trustee of the BAA Pension Scheme, has appointed Xafinity Paymaster to provide third-party administration services for its defined benefit pension scheme, which covers more than 20,000 members.

Until now, British Airports Authority - which operates six major UK airports - has administered the pension scheme in-house. As part of the contract, a number of BAA staff will transfer to the employment of Xafinity Paymaster.

BAA Pension Trust said the decision to outsource the administration of the scheme to Xafinity came down to the trustees' desire to provide an improved high-quality service for members cost-effectively.

The value of the contract, which will be serviced from 15 October, has not been disclosed.

Lastly, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has awarded a five-year, £450,000 contract to provide a managed pensions administration system to Civica, a systems and outsourcing specialist.
 
JTI acquired the UK's second-largest tobacco company Gallaher Group in 2007. Following the acquisition, JTI required an updated pensions management system that would give its in-house teams greater control, flexibility and productivity in running the company's existing UK pensions arrangements.
 
JTI said it particularly wanted to streamline reporting to members, while reducing running costs.

Civica is providing JTI with pensions management software under a fully managed service.

In conjunction with Hymans Robertson, which is providing transition support for the defined contribution scheme, Civica consultants will implement the new defined benefit system, including data migration and set up consultancy by November, with the DC scheme following in early 2011.