UK - The £10bn (€13.5bn) Strathclyde pension fund said it has reappointed Northern Trust as its custodian.

The fund re-tendered for custodial services, including securities lending services, performance measurement and asset safekeeping last July, as Northern Trust's five-year contract was coming to an end.

Strathclyde, the largest local government pension fund in the UK, said in a statement this morning Northern Trust has been its custodian for 10 years.

At the end of September, the asset servicing firm had $4.1trn (€2.78trn) in assets under custody.

The fund also put Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford and Isle of Man's Capital International under watch in July, citing concerns about underperformance.
   
Baillie Gifford manages £1.57bn or 16.1% of the total fund in UK equities, overseas equitiesand property for the fund, while Capital International manages £1.54bn or 15.9% of the fund across the same asset classes.

However, IPE learnt at the time the managers' target weightings in the overall fund had been reduced.

A spokesman for the fund told IPE today the two managers are still under close watch, though their performance has slightly improved.

He added the fund will undertake another annual review of its 20 or so external asset managers on March 31 and the fund will then decide if any further action is needed regarding Baillie Gifford and Capital International.

If you have any comments you would like to add to this or any other story, contact Carolyn Bandel on +44 (0)20 7261 4622 or email carolyn.bandel@ipe.com

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