NETHERLANDS – The Blue Sky Group, which manages pension assets for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, has awarded a 218 million-euro inflation-linked mandate to Allianz’s PIMCO.

PIMCO said in a statement that it had been selected by Blue Sky to manage a 218 million-euro global real return brief.

The mandate would be benchmarked against a customised euro-hedged Barclays Global Inflation Linked Bond Index, the asset manager said.

PIMCO, part of Allianz Dresdner Asset Management, said the award brings its total funds under management in the Netherlands to 3.3 billion dollars.

“Blue Sky Group is adopting the concept that inflation-linked bonds provide substantial diversification benefits for investors, and provide a hedge against future inflation,” it added.

Last month Blue Sky awarded a 250 million-dollar US large-cap enhanced equities mandate to Janus subsidiary INTECH.

"With inflation-linked bonds clients receive a hedge against future inflation,” said Marc van Heel, PIMCO’s director of business development in Benelux.

“This is especially important in the Netherlands, where under normal circumstances pension funds will try to compensate pensioners for inflation.”

PIMCO, which specialises in fixed income, has more than 364 billion dollars under management globally.

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