GERMANY – The European Central Bank is looking for investment managers and a custodian for its 70 million euro retirement plan.

The plan was established in July 1998 and comprises two sections – a core benefit account made up of ECB contributions, and a flexible benefit account made up of employee contributions.

The assets of the plan will be invested using a passive investment management approach. A mix of euro equities, non-euro equities, euro bonds and euro cash is currently used for the investment of the assets of the plan, and additional asset classes such as global bonds and emerging market equities may be used in the future.

In respect of the investment management services, applicant companies must be able to provide an efficient investment vehicle that allows the ECB to benefit for its tax status, says the bank.

In respect of custodian services, the ECB highlights the importance of daily reporting performance measurement and unit pricing.

The expiry date of the lists resulting from the call for expressions of interest is 11 August.