Fondo Pensione Cometa, the €15bn Italian pension fund for employees in the metal industry, is appointing new asset managers to further diversify investment styles within its ‘Reddito’ sub-fund – the largest of its five portfolios, with more than €11bn in assets.
Libero Giunta, head of finance at Cometa, told IPE that through the new mandates, the fund is seeking active management in its stock and bond selection.
Cometa is tendering one active bond mandate worth around €900m and one active equity mandate of about €300m for its ‘Reddito’ sub-fund. The deadline for bids is 5 November.
The new appointments will bring the total number of managers for the sub-fund to seven, adding to existing mandates run by Allianz Global Investors, Amundi, BlackRock, AXA Investment Management and Eurizon Capital. These managers currently oversee more than €2bn through total return mandates without a benchmark.
Once the new mandates are awarded, around 90% of Reddito’s portfolio will continue to be managed through total return strategies, with the remaining 10-11% run on an active, benchmark-driven basis.
“We would like to have market beta because the exposure will remain in line with the strategic allocation, and alpha created by the selection within the respective benchmarks,” Giunta said.
Giunta noted that greater diversification in investment styles should help Cometa navigate potential volatility expected between late 2025 and 2026. The fund may review the sub-fund’s strategic asset allocation in 2027, when the current mandates expire.
Under the existing total return mandates, managers have broad flexibility for tactical allocation and exposure to macro asset classes. This approach has led them to maintain an overweight position in equities – currently at 28% versus a 25% strategic target – contributing to Reddito’s positive year-to-date performance, Giunta said.
Managers remain “positive” on equities while monitoring developments in corporate earnings and the impact of artificial intelligence on company results, he added.
By contrast, volatility in government bonds and the “explosion of public debt” are a source of concern for Cometa, which has significant exposure to sovereign debt.
Around 2% of the Reddito’s assets are invested in gold and silver through exchange-traded commodities, which Giunta described as an additional driver of returns in a bullish precious metals market. The sub-fund has returned 3.75% so far this year.
Cometa is also considering introducing private market investments into its portfolio, though no decision has yet been made, Giunta said.
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