The ITN Pension Scheme, the pension fund for the news programmes producer, has renewed Aon’s fiduciary management contract.

ITN has provided news programmes for independent television in the UK since 1955; it currently provides news for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

The company has expanded into new areas through ITN Productions, producing content including documentaries and sport, as well as advertising and digital material.

Aon has been the fiduciary manager to the £400m scheme since 2013, it said.

The renewal is part of the Competition and Markets Authority Order, which required the ITN Pension Scheme’s trustees to carry out a competitive re-tender of Aon’s fiduciary management services, it added.

Aon is also actuary and investment adviser to the scheme.

Lesley Everett, incoming chair of trustees at the scheme, said: “We were particularly impressed in the way Aon has incorporated responsible investment into our investment approach. It’s an area that is increasingly important to us and I am confident that the Aon team will continue to innovate in this area.”

Martyn Hurd, chair of trustees at the scheme, said a thorough review of the investment market was carried out, but recognised that having worked with Aon for the last seven years, the firm “delivered the investment performance we have needed to meet all market eventualities.”

“It’s really important for us to work with a fiduciary manager that fully understands our scheme and ITN’s business – we feel we get this from the Aon team,” Hurd added.

Lucy Barron, partner at Aon, said she was pleased to be able to continue Aon’s long-standing relationship with the fund, adding that “the scheme also places genuine importance on responsible investment – which is an increasingly important area for our clients.”

Germany-based insurer seeks investment proposals for US core equities

An insurance company based in Germany has used IPE’s Discovery* platform to announce it is conducting research on US mid-cap core equities.

According to search DS-2627, the investor – which has earmarked €100-200m for a potential investment – is calling for interested parties to submit different strategies by 3 November, 5pm UK time.

The investor is looking for an active segregated strategy but is open to all investment styles.

Participating asset management firms will need a minimum track record of five years and will need to respond directly via the Discovery to register interest.

*Definition of Discovery: Pre-RFI tool which enables institutional asset owners to carry out a preliminary search for managers active in a particular asset class or region. Asset owners can also use this tool to research an asset class they are looking at for the first time. Discovery is free-to-view so payment only applies if you decide to respond.

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