Standard Life Investments, the investment arm of insurer Standard Life, has won a €400m ($556m) mandate from the largest US pension fund just two weeks after SLI agreed to spin out its private equity operations into a new vehicle entitling management to a significant stake in profits.

Standard Life Investments, led by chief executive of private equity David Currie, will invest €400m from the California Public Employees' Retirement System, Calpers, in private equity funds across Europe.