Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the fund arm of US giant Merrill Lynch, has said it is not aware of any grounds for legal action by the Co-Operative Group, which has said it may sue the asset manager over poor performance of its pension fund.
The Co-op, the British supermarket group said today it was considering legal action against MLIM over the historic investment performance of the fund.
"We have been unhappy with Merrill's investment performance for some time," Co-op group secretary Mr Nick Eyre said in a statement.
The Co-op said it was moving the £500 million of investments which had been under MLIM's management, to Legal & General Investment Management at the end of May.
MLIM has been under a cloud after a high-profile court case last year with the pension fund of consumer goods firm Unilever which sued over poor performance in the late 1990s. MLIM settled the case out of court after agreeing to pay around £75 million without admission of liability.
Several other pension funds, including those of supermarket chain J Sainsbury, Surrey County Council and drug maker AstraZeneca, have said they are considering legal action over Merrill's performance.