France’s €26bn Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR) has launched a tender to select two providers specialising in transition management operations.
The four-year mandates, with the possibility of a one-year extension, will support changes to the FRR’s portfolios, including the investment and disinvestment operations needed to establish and modify portfolios managed by asset managers.
The providers will execute buy and sell orders for financial instruments issued by the FRR’s investment teams, with the fund seeking the “best conditions of execution and confidentiality”.
The tender is intended to renew the previous contract. In 2022, the FRR selected BlackRock and Russell Investments as preferred transition management partners, with each mandate also running for four years with the possibility of a further one-year extension.
The FRR said interested investment firms have until 12pm Paris time on 4 November 2026 to submit their bids.
The French public pension reserve fund said transition managers support the implementation of its portfolio allocation by helping to optimise the costs of buying and selling securities when changing asset managers, or when assets are contributed to or withdrawn from mandates.
The FRR was established by law in 2001 and manages reserves intended to contribute to the long-term sustainability of France’s pension schemes.
