ITALY - The pension fund of the partly privatised state energy and gas producer Enel has tendered its entire portfolio, expected be worth 360 million euros by the end of the year.

In the request for tender the fund said it was looking for nine asset managers for its pension fund, FOPEN. Between 2005 and 2008, the average contribution to the fund has been estimated at around 65 million euros a year.

FOPEN is currently managed through four investment compartments.

Cash, 16% of the entire portfolio, is managed by Nextra and Generali Asset Management. The balanced bonds compartment, 74% of the whole portfolio, is managed by Nextra, Generali Asset Management and AXA Investment Managers.

The balanced compartment, seven percent, and mainly equities compartment, three percent, are managed by San Paolo IMI Wealth Management and Duemme SGR.

An official of the fund said the managers are welcome to re-tender for the mandates. They will remain in charge until new appointments are made.

The fund will award a six-month cash, hedged against currency risk, mandate for the cash compartment.

Six mandates will be awarded for the balanced bond compartment, comprising one Euro government bond brief, worth 28% of the compartment’s value, and an actively managed Euro corporate bond brief of the same value.

An actively managed Euro corporate bond brief, worth 14% of the compartment, an actively managed US equities mandate, 11%, an actively managed Europe equities mandate, 16% of the compartment, and an actively managed Japanese equities, 3%, are also being tendered.

A further mandate, equally split between international equities and Euro government bonds, and one for the “mainly equities” compartment, 70% global balanced and 30% Euro government bonds, are also being tendered.

Short-listed candidates with no operations in Italy will be required to name a country-based “speaker” to deal with the fund. In addition, they are required a four year performance track, from June 30 2000 to June 30 2004.

A questionnaire must be returned by September 6.

An official told IPE that while the September 6 deadline is valid for both Italian and English speaking candidates, foreign managers have time until September 20 to have their application translated in Italian.

Candidates can also get in touch via quesitiselezionefopen@virgilio.it. The fund is likely to name the new managers by mid-October and the beginning of November.

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