EUROPE - The Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea this week confirmed it has found a new passive investment manager, with fellow London Borough Tower Hamlets is searching for an absolute returns manager, hot on the heels of its search for a multi-asset passive investment manager.

Kensington and Chelsea Council said Legal and General would be taking over its passive fund passive management duties on their £409m (€459m) pension scheme. The company was awarded the £30m-40m index-linked gilts and global equities contract after beating three rival bids.

Elsewhere in the Scandinavian market, Storebrand Pensjonstjenester is to take on all administrative services for Norges Bank Pensjonskasse, the central bank's pension scheme.

Focusing on UK developments again, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is currently looking for candidates to run a £60m absolute return mandate, which the council says is worth around 10% of its pension fund assets.

Interested parties are asked to submit their proposal by 19 February 2010, although officials said hedge fund and fund of hedge fund (FoHF) solutions will not be considered.

And Wolverhampton City Council is searching for a consultancy firm to help the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) achieve its goal of minimising shareholder risk.

The contract, valued at £1.5m, will run for a minimum of five years, with the option of being extended twice for two years each. All submission have to be made by Thursday 4 March 2010.

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