LGPS Central has selected two external managers for its £900m (€1bn) Global Active Emerging Market Bond Fund. The two managers selected are M&G Investments and Amundi, with each fund manager receiving half of the total mandate, the investment pool announced.

It said that more than 70 fund managers from across the globe expressed an initial interest in tendering for the mandate.

Gordon Ross, interim chief investment officer and investment director for fixed income at LGPS Central, said: “When we began the manager search for our Emerging Market Bond Fund, we were looking for candidates which displayed a robust and disciplined investment process, full transparency, value for money and commitment to responsible investment.”

He said that both selected managers “showed evidence of all these attributes in managing EMD products and we are very much looking forward to working with them as we deliver the returns our partner funds need for the long-term.”

Separately, LGPS Central has also confirmed that as of 1 May 2020 it is now running a discretionary £211m UK Gilts mandate in-house on behalf of Nottinghamshire Pension Fund, it said.

This is in addition to a global investment grade corporate bond fund that the pool launched last month, bringing together £1.2bn of partner fund assets under management, with the initial investors being Derbyshire Pension Fund, Nottinghamshire Pension Fund, Staffordshire Pension Fund and Worcestershire Pension Fund.

Swiss pension fund tenders CHF900m bonds mandate

A Swiss public sector pension fund has issued two tenders worth CHF450m (€420m) each via IPE Quest.

According to the QN-2610 search, the mandates could invest in global, domestic and foreign bonds, following the Swiss Bond Index (SBI) AAA-BBB Total Return benchmark.

Managers should have at least CHF10bn in assets under management as a firm, and at least CHF5bn in credit. Their track record should be at least five years, but a minimum of 10 years is preferred.

The deadline for applications is 22 May at 5pm UK time. Applicants should state performance data to 31 March 2020, gross of fees.

The IPE news team is unable to answer any further questions about IPE Quest, Discovery, or Innovation tender notices to protect the interests of clients conducting the search. To obtain information directly from IPE Quest, please contact Jayna Vishram on +44 (0) 20 3465 9330 or email jayna.vishram@ipe-quest.com.

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