Foncer, the €426m Italian pension scheme for employees of the ceramic industry, is selecting managers for the largest of its investment funds.

The defined contribution scheme will award four three-year mandates to manage the balanced fund, totalling just under €400m.

The scheme is searching for active managers of balanced portfolios with strong ESG credentials. The current mandates expire at the end of June. Interested managers have until 1pm CET on 10 March to respond. More details on the required documentation is available at www.foncer.it.

Meanwhile Epap, an €815m scheme, is searching for fixed income managers for a portfolio worth €320m.

The scheme intends to award five different fixed income mandates. One will focus on investment grade government bonds, two will focus on a mix of government bonds and corporate bonds including investment grade and high yield, while the fourth will focus on corporate bonds. A fifth mandate will be focused on convertible bonds.

The mandates will run for three years, with a possibility of renewal for another three years. Interest parties have until 12pm CET on 10 March to send their offers. More information is available from the scheme’s, www.epap.it.

Epap is a “cassa di previdenza”, a first-pillar fund for white-collar workers. It provides retirement and other benefits to employees of various sectors, including agricultural engineers, chemists, geologists and actuaries.

Elsewhere, Enpapi, the €820m cassa di previdenza for nurses, will choose a new investment advisor between two Italian firms, Prometeia Advisor Sim and MangustaRisk. The value of the contract, which is being awarded under EU rules for public procurement, is around €385,000 plus VAT.

Earlier this week, PKH, the NOK22bn (€2.4bn) Norwegian pension fund for health authorities, seeded a global high yield environmental, social, and governance (ESG) themed bond fund run by BlueBay Asset Management. The fund launch was prompted by a mandate from PKH for an ESG strategy for their global bond portfolio.

Last week, Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund awarded Kames Capital a £300m buy-and-hold fixed income mandate that was designed to help the pension fund implement its infrastructure investment plans. Kames will invest the £300m in a portfolio of corporate bonds with a target yield of 1.25% over Libor after fees, “with the aim of providing periodic cash flow” to meet the pension fund’s five-year infrastructure investment plan.