UBS fired by Church pension scheme

LONDON (Reuters) - The Church of England Pensions Board said on Wednesday it has fired UBS as its global equities fund manager and brought in Allianz unit RCM in its place.

Tony Williams, pensions manager for the church scheme, told Reuters that UBS was replaced "primarily" due to performance issues. He did not disclose details of investment returns.

UBS had managed the scheme's exposure to international stocks for more than five years.

RCM -- a global equities specialist -- said in a separate statement it was hired to manage a 100 million pound mandate for the church scheme.

"We have switched a global equity mandate, that had been with UBS for more than five years, to RCM as part of an on-going strategic review of investments aimed at optimising the returns on the fund," said a church spokesman.

The money will be invested using a screen which applies the ethical criteria demanded by the Church. Stocks linked to tobacco, arms, alcohol and gambling will be excluded from the portfolio.

The Church of England Pensions Board provides retirement benefits to members of the clergy, including the Archbishop of Canterbury.

According to the Board's 2007 annual report, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the two senior positions in the Church of England, are due to receive annual pension payments of about 28,000 pounds after the age of 65.