GERMANY- Deutsche Telecom is ready to look for managers for the assets in its newly-established pension fund, which received regulatory approval from the BAV today. Though the size and asset strategy of the fund have yet to be determined, DT has asked Towers Perrin to begin organising beauty parades and to advise on an eventual investment strategy.

The company says it will conduct an ALM study once the investment policy has been decided.

DT’s new industry-wide pensions arrangements also include life and disability insurance cover. It has struck partnerships with HSBC, Citigroup, Allianz and Victoria Versicherung to help with this.

Elsewhere, Deutsche Post has also announced its new retirement structure. With a potential membership of 200,000, DB has opted to establish a new pension fund to replace the traditional pensionskasse since the potential returns are far greater for pension funds.

“The growth in the pension fund market and DP’s strong market capitalisation mean that we can achieve much higher returns investing this way,” said a spokeswoman for the fund at the ABA conference in Bonn.

DP will effectively manage the assets in its new fund in-house through Post Bank Fund Services and Post Bank Privat Investment Kapitalanlagegesellschaft, both part of the DP Group.

The BAV has now approved three new style Riester pension funds. The chemical industry’s fund was approved last month while Pensord, the fund established by Commerzbank, received regulatory approval alongside Deutsche Telekom today.

Some 25 funds have applied to the BAV for approval.