The former chief investment officer at the UK's biggest pension fund manager Hermes, has joined the country's second largest. Roger Gray has been named as the new head of investments at the Universities Superannuation Scheme at a pivotal time for the £23bn (€26m) fund, which is still nursing last year's multi-billion pound losses.

Gray, who left Hermes in June after three years, said he had moved on as a result of its shift to a more commercial organisation. Hermes has restructured itself into a series of investment 'boutiques' with a view to running more money on behalf of clients other than its owner, the BT Pension Scheme.