NORWAY- Oslo Pensjons Forsikring has appointed PIMCO Europe to set up and manage a $220m global fixed-income portfolio for the city's 20,000 employee pension fund.

The fund is denominated in Norwegian Krone, domiciled in Luxembourg and will be managed by PIMCO's global bond team.

The Oslo fund adheres to Bank of International Settlement (BIS) regulations and consequently the portfolio has to take this into consideration.

Peter Lindgren, PIMCO's sales director for the Nordic region, says the BIS regulations means investment strategy will be relatively conservative. It will invest primarily in government and index linked bonds and will not go below a single A rating.

Following the latest appointment, PIMCO's total funds in the Nordic region stand at $1.6billion.

Said Lindgren: "the city of Oslo mandate represents a major development in our objective to become a leader in Norwegian fixed-income management and demonstrates Norwegian investors' growing appetite for global bond products.”

California-based PIMCO manages more than $240 billion in fixed-income assets in the US and an additional $100 billion in insurance-based assets in Europe. The company is majority owned by the insurer Allianz.