FRANCE – The 16 billion-euro Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites has awarded a three-year execution analysis brief to Global Securities Consulting Services.

The fund said GSCS would have the task of “analyzing the best execution of transactions effected by the firms to which the FRR has entrusted the management of its assets”.

The scheme said the mandate is part of a broader effort “to institute a collaborative system, with its asset managers, whose aims is to contain costs and monitor transaction fees”.

GSCS managing director Robert Kay declined to say how much the contract was worth and was not able to say if the FRR was advised on the decision.

“GSCS’s mandate involves the ex-post facto analysis of the quality of the execution of transactions by the transition broker or by broker/dealers selected by the asset managers,” the FRR added.

“In awarding this mandate, the FRR seeks to work in total transparency with its asset managers towards optimizing performance in terms of trading and order execution quality.”

GSCS began providing transaction cost analysis in 1993. In 2001 it launched the online GSCS Hypercube. It says it has clients throughout Europe, North America and Asia.