Sparinstitutens Pensionskassa (SPK) has appointed two new managers as it moves into infrastructure and grows its exposure to alternative risk premia.

The SEK24bn (€2.6bn) fund for the Swedish banking sector recently overhauled its investment strategy, moving away from an approach that had 70% of assets in fixed income and the remainder in equities.

Peter Hansson, the fund’s chief executive, told IPE JP Morgan Asset Management would be in charge of its infrastructure portfolio, accounting for 4% of assets.

Ramius Alternative Solutions has also been put in charge of SPK’s 8% allocation to alternative risk premia, complementing the previous appointment of Brummer & Partners.

CIO Stefan Ros previously said of the fund’s interest in risk premia: “The hedge fund industry in general is very expensive, so we’ve tried to be creative and look for alternative strategies that can achieve what the hedge funds do but with significantly lower costs.”

Hansson added that the fund also selected a real estate manager but had yet to finalise the paperwork for the appointment.

As a result, SPK has now appointed managers for all of its planned alternatives portfolios.

Hansson called the new asset allocation the “biggest change in the history of the fund”, with holdings in 10 asset classes rather than the previous two.

It plans to allocate 20% of assets to alternatives – spread across infrastructure, property, hedge funds and alternative risk premia – with 30% in equities and the remaining half of the fund in fixed income. 

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