As Wales draws international attention with the start of the Ashes tournament in Cardiff today, the principality's pension schemes have in turn focused on global investment opportunities and how to get the best value from managers.

The Gwynedd local authority pension scheme has appointed Fidelity International to an international equities mandate worth 20% of its total portfolio. It had originally been worth £150m (€173m) but was reduced to £116m due to a fall in value of the the scheme's assets.