Herb Allison, the former president of Merrill Lynch, is to re-emerge as head of the Teachers Annuity Association and College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), one of the biggest pension funds in the US.

Allison, who spent 28 years at Merrill before leaving in 1999, is to replace John Biggs as head of the $260bn (€265bn) not-for-profit pension fund and will take over on November 1.