UK - The €587m Middlesex Borough of Harrow pension fund has split a £150m (€228m) mandate to manage currency overlay between Record Currency Management, a specialist firm, and Mellon Global Investments.

The fund, advised by Hymans Robertson, had originally tendered for "specialist active/passive currency overlay management". It selected from 18 bidders according to resources, investment philosophy, risk controls, assets under management, ownership and fees.

The pension fund also announced that it has awarded a separate contract to manage its £20m private equity portfolio via a fund-of-funds approach. Private equity accounts for 5% of the fund.

Harrow's announcement follows a recent spate of currency overlay tenders. Earlier this week the London Borough of Haringey's €678.5m scheme announced that it was looking for active currency overlay manager for a portfolio worth between £150—£200m - a month after the €1.8bn Suffolk County Council pension fund tendered for its own £403m currency overlay contract.

Nor is Harrow the first pension fund to split its currency overlay mandate. The £2.4bn City of Edinburgh Lothian pension fund last year appointed three managers - AG Bisset, Record Currency Management and JP Morgan - to run its first foray into currency overlay.