L&G has launched a nature and social outcomes strategy.

An initial investment worth £183m was made through the Legal and General (L&G) Future World Multi-Asset fund and Retirement Income Multi-Asset fund and will aim to grow in line with normal capital inflows from these funds. The investment brings L&G's commitment to nature conservation and sustainable development in emerging markets (EMs) to over £890m. L&G senior investment manager for asset management, Jake Harper, commented: Exposure to EMs can offer attractive returns for investors whilst aiming to support communities and ecosystems which play an indispensable role in upholding economies across the globe. Innovative debt financing allows investors to allocate to nature conservation and sustainable development in EMs whilst benefitting from an improved credit rating and higher returns."

Access has reappointed Waystone as its Pool operator

The reappointment follows a rigorous open tender procurement process run by the Access Pool with the assistance of Hymans Robertson. Waystone will continue to operate an authorised contractual scheme (ACS), including bespoke insurance coverage, on behalf of the Access Pool. Access joint committee chairman, Cllr Mark Kemp-Gee, commented on the appointment: "Waystone will continue to deliver the ACS for our listed assets along with significant value for money and economies of scale for our members, and we are pleased it was successful again. We look forward to continuing with what has been a great collaboration with the team as we transition to becoming a financial conduct authority (FCA) -regulated pool investment manager in our own right".

First Actuarial opens Birmingham office.

Due to open in April 2025, the Birmingham office will be headed up by Andrew Allsopp and Mark Frost, former directors of Quattro Pensions. The office – First Actuarial's seventh in the UK - will be situated on Colmore Row, close to Birmingham's main train and tram stations and will provide a central base for nearby client visits and networking activities. First Actuarial managing partner, David Joy, said: "Last year, our revenue grew by 15 per cent, and this year, we're firmly on track to exceed that. We're expanding into new locations to build on this growth while sustaining our client-first approach to service delivery. Birmingham is the obvious choice as one of the UK's major business hubs, offering a large pool of impressive finance professionals."

Over 10,000 pension transfers were searched for on the new Origo tracking service.

Origo's Unipass Transfer Tracking allows advisers to monitor the progress of all their clients' pension transfers through a single digital portal. Advisors using the new service can access real-time information on their clients' transfers. Origo Services CEO, Anthony Rafferty, said: "We felt confident that Unipass Transfer Tracking could become the type of service that advisers use almost every day, but this immediate surge in uptake has even exceeded our expectations. It shows how much advisers and their clients need readily available information and updates about where the transfer is sitting, what's happening, and who is currently taking action to resolve any issues."

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