Four of Sweden's state pension funds, which jointly control around €70bn ($100bn) of assets, have jointly appointed a single UK firm to vote on their behalf at shareholder meetings – as discussions increase about merging the funds into one.

Manifest, a UK voting agency, has beaten several larger rivals to take the contact, which relates to the AP funds' holdings outside Sweden. It is understood that US corporate-governance firms such as Glass Lewis and Riskmetrics may have applied, along with UK company Pirc.