A Swiss institutional investor is looking to commit CHF200m (€163m) to a global sovereign debt fund, using IPE-Questfor its manager selection.

Search QN1340 sees the investment consultant, acting on behalf of an unnamed institution, seek a manager overseeing a pooled global government bond fund of at least CHF400m in size.

The fund’s performance should be managed against the Barclays global government AAA-AA capped bond index, with returns hedged into Swiss francs and excluding domestic sovereign issuance.

Interested managers should be overseeing at least $1bn (€736m) in similar mandates and have a demonstrable track record of at least three years and preferably five years.

Applications for the actively managed mandate should be submitted by 25 October.

In other news, a Continental European pension fund has launched an IPE-Quest search to place a $100m global investment-grade credit bond mandate.

The actively managed mandate tendered in search QN1341 should only attract applicants with at least five years’ experience in the area, although the pension fund would prefer a minimum track record of a decade from any applicant and a minimum of $1bn in assets under management, both at the firm and within similar mandates.

Interested parties should submit their applications by 18 October, citing net of fees performance through the end of September.

Meanwhile, a Continental pension fund has tendered a UK-targeted investment-grade credit bond mandate worth $100m.

Search QN1342 applies similar criteria to the previously mentioned global investment-grade credit bond mandate, requiring at least $1bn in assets within similar mandates from any interested asset manager.

The actively managed mandate will be benchmarked against the iBoxx GDP non-Gilt index, with applications welcomed until 18 October.

Interested managers should state net of fees performance through the end of September.

Moving to the UK, the £1.9bn (€2.25bn) Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL) pension plan has awarded a fixed income mandate to Payden & Rygel.

The £80m (€95m) absolute return bond mandate will potentially invest in high-yield paper, emerging markets and mortgage or asset-backed securities.

Mark Stanley, senior portfolio director at Payden & Rygel, noted that the strategy had been established for SAUL and would aim to generate positive returns above cash for any given year.

Finally, the £145m Midcounties Co-operative Pension Scheme has appointed Towers Watson as its fiduciary investment manager.

The award, won by the consultancy following a competitive tender, was noted by the head of EMEA investment Chris Ford as being the “best way to address governance challenges”.