UK - The West Midlands local authority pension fund has extended its alternatives investment strategy and allocated £40m (€44) to a fund of hedge funds.

Judy Saunders, chief investment officer at the £7bn local government scheme, said last year that the scheme's alternatives holding was being increased to 25%, but at the time said it would not allocate to hedge funds because the fees were still considered to be too high for the performance delivered. (See earlier IPE story:West Midlands allocates 25% to alternatives)

Since then, Goodhart has been appointed to look after the FoHF mandate, and Saunders said: "Goodhart's distinctive investment‐driven approach fits well with our strategy of having a few specialist equity funds alongside passive management." 

Goodhart was recently employed by RailPen Investments to look after some of the hedge fund assets for British railway workers. (See earlier IPE story: Railpen expands its long-short strategy)

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