EUROPE - British paint company C Brewer & Sons has opted for fiduciary management of its entire £110m (€140m) pension fund portfolio, split over two schemes.

SEI has been appointed to oversee management of the C Brewer & Sons Limited Executive Pension Scheme, as well as the Retirement Benefit Scheme with £33 and £75m in assets, respectively.

In a statement, it said that scheme trustees opted for the fiduciary approach to allow for a more "nimble" approach to investment decisions.

Lynne Turner, chair of trustee commented: "The trustees of both schemes decided to appoint a fiduciary manager because we were keen to find a governance approach which would allow us to more effectively manage the assets of the scheme against the liabilities."

Meanwhile, State Street has been appointed depository bank for two of the occupational pension schemes of Italy's Monte dei Paschi Bank.

The fund chairman Marco Turchi and Angelo Dringoli said State Street was selected for its global scale. The mandate will see depository services provided for €2bn worth of assets, spread out over Cassa di Previdenza aziendale and the bank's complementary pension fund.

Riccardo Lamanna, managing director and head of State Street's global services in the country added that the group would be happy to assist the schemes at a time of change in Italy, with the implementation of the Commissione di Vigilanza sui Fondi Pensionications proceeding.

Finally, Aviva Investors and Alliance Trust Investment have entered an investment advisory agreement for £1.2bn of sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) funds overseen by the insurers asset management business.

As part of the agreement, Aviva's SRI funds and team will transfer to Alliance Trust, with Peter Michaelis remaining in charge.