The pace of work has been picking up for the investment consultants that advise pension schemes and fund managers on their custodial arrangements – so much so that they have started hiring staff.

Sonja Spinner, a senior associate at Mercer's investor services team, Mercer Sentinel, said: "It definitely is busy: on Monday I was in the office until midnight. We have seen different projects from normal, a couple of studies of back offices for UK pension schemes and, in continental Europe, a couple of benchmarking exercises for regional custodians who want to compare their processes with those of their global rivals.