GERMANY - The €530m city of Cologne pension fund is looking for an asset manager to take on the role of a Master-KAG, In a bid to "optimise" the fund's asset and risk management.

The Zusatzvorsorgekasse (ZVK), a supplementary pension fund for civil servants and other municipal employees in around 40 companies, wants to centralise management of its assets and pool the investments in one "masterfund".

According to the tender notice published on the EU's tender database TED, the fund will comprise current equity and bond investments and has to be open for other asset classes "should the strategic investment policy of the ZVK of the city of Cologne plan other investments in the future".

The ZVK also specifically wants a manager which can implement an overlay strategy in the portfolio in order to provide additional risk management and be better able to react to future market developments.

The Master-KAG will also be responsible for choosing the managers for the various asset classes within the portfolio but the ZVK will have to give its approval and reserves the right to demand a change of asset managers at any time.

Interested asset managers have until the end of July to reply to the tender and the contract is scheduled to start in December 2009.

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