IPE - A UK institutional investor is looking to place a £1bn (€1.1bn) investment-grade credit mandate, using IPE Quest.

The unnamed investor in search QN1203 stressed that applicants must have "outstanding experience in pension asset management" and should ideally have a UK base, in addition to being regulated by the Financial Services Authority, the country's regulator.

Asset managers should not submit any strategies that have more than 15-20% of the mandate invested in non-sterling denominated bonds and should exclude any use of derivatives, unless employed for hedging the currency exposure of foreign currency-denominated fixed income.

Further, high yield and emerging market bonds should be excluded, with the credit quality of the portfolio standing at A- or A3 on average.

Interested parties must have at least three years of experience, with five preferred, and manage £10bn in similar mandates, while a minimum of £100bn in assets under management at the company is a must.

They should also have sound back-office processes, as well as experience in managing low turnover mandates.

The actively managed portfolio will be benchmarked using the Merrill Lynch Bank of America Sterling Non-Gilts index, with no tracking error specified.

Interested parties should apply by 15 September, stating performance gross of fees until the end of June.

The IPE.com news team is unable to answer any further questions about IPE Quest tender notices to protect the interests of clients conducting the search. To obtain information direct from IPE Quest, please contact Jayna Vishram on +44 (0) 20 7261 4630 or email jayna.vishram@ipe-quest.com.