UK - Suffolk County Council has appointed two management firms to look currency overlay mandates totalling £500m (€700m) for the local authority's £1.28bn pension fund.

Peter Edwards, corporate finance manager at Suffolk CC, confirmed to IPE Millennium Global Investments has been tasked with managing a £250m active currency overlay mandate which may at some stage include a passive overlay element while Record Currency Managers will handle a £250m active mandate.

This is Suffolk's first foray into currency overlay, having begun its search in December 2006, with the assistance of Hymans Robertson, for one or more managers to look after £403m.

Edwards said the contracts are open-ended, and the total sum has now increased to £500m as the notional value of the mandate is up to 39% of the fund.

This latest manager appointment is part of a wider investment review the pension fund undertook last year, and recently the pension fund appoint three firms to manage new global equities portfolios. (See earlier IPE story: Suffolk signs three firms to handle £225m in equities)

If you have any comments you would like to add to this or any other story, contact Julie Henderson on + 44 (0)20 7261 4602 or email julie.henderson@ipe.com

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