LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Anglo Australian investment
manager Henderson (HGGH.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is winding down its low-fee earning
businesses to focus on more lucrative active fund management
after buying rival Gartmore, its chief executive said.

Henderson, which saw a near five-fold rise in pretax profit
in 2010 due to inflows into high-fee products, is withdrawing
from business such as liquidity management, which posted
outflows last year.

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) – A ruling by the European Court of
Justice (ECJ) expected next week could boost women’s retirement
income by up to 10 percent and make men worse off, creating
upheaval in the insurance sector.
Insurers currently pay retired men who have purchased an
annuity more than women on the basis that on average they live
three years less, according to investment adviser Hargreaves
Lansdowne.

European Union Advocate General Juliane Kokott argued in a
preliminary finding last September that gender should not count
as a risk factor for annuities, saying economic and social
conditions also influence life expectancy.

LONDON (Reuters) – The $7.2 billion (£4.4 billion) Pioneer Fund is sticking to its top holding Chevron, betting the U.S oil giant will shrug off a multi-billion dollar fine for polluting the Amazon rainforest, manager John Carey told Reuters.

“It is a very controversial case and Chevron has a lot of evidence on its side that it did what it was required,” Carey said on Thursday, adding that Pioneer would keep its exposure at just under 3 percent, its self-imposed investment cap.

LONDON (Reuters) – Deals in which British companies pay insurers to take on pension liabilities could more than double this year as stabilising asset prices open the market to more firms, a leading insurer said.

David Collinson, a partner at Pension Corporation which partially or totally takes on pension liabilities, told Reuters such transactions, known as buyouts and buy-ins, dramatically slowed during the financial crisis but were now within “chequebook distance” for more firms.

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Deals in which British companies
pay insurers to take on pension liabilities could more than
double this year as stabilising asset prices open the market to
more firms, a leading insurer said.

David Collinson, a partner at Pension Corporation which
partially or totally takes on pension liabilities, told Reuters
such transactions, known as buyouts and buy-ins, dramatically
slowed during the financial crisis but were now within
“chequebook distance” for more firms.