Standard Life Investments

Shires Income PLC has posted positive annual results seeing a share price total return of +1.1, a Net Asset Value Total Return of +4.7% versus FTSE All-Share Total Return of +4.6%. The trust is managed by Iain Pyle, investment director, UK equities at Standard Life Investments.

The Rothschild family's RIT fund is likely to face rival challenges in its merger bid with the Dundee-based Alliance Trust, city analysts have predicted. Stephen Peters, investment trust expert at wealth manager Charles Stanley, told the Financial Times: "We should expect more proposals. Two billion

Sir George Mathewson