UK - Airline company Scandinavian Airline Systems has outsourced the management of its £27m (€39.6m) UK pension fund to SEI Investments.

The move has resulted in the loss of business for an un-named asset manager.

SAS spokesman Jeff Rebello told IPE that the scheme had previously employed another external manager – although he declined to identify it.

He also declined to discuss the scheme’s funding situation and its asset allocation but told IPE the change had “no reflection on the previous company”.

“This is just part of our normal review and it suits our needs. We reviewed the whole way we are managing the pension fund,” Rebello said. He added: “Time was ripe for a review.”

In a statement issued by SEI, Marie Lunden, the airline’s controller for UK and Ireland who was in charge of the selection process, said: “We were impressed by the manager-of-managers approach to investment.”

Patrick Disney, head of SEI’s European institutional business, said the mandate was “a clear endorsement” for the company.

SEI said that as of the end of June it administered $312bn in mutual fund and pooled assets and managed $130.7bn in assets through subsidiaries and partnerships.