DENMARK - The 16 billion-crown (2.21 billion-euro) pension fund of the Danish financial sector, Finanssektorens Pensionskasse has awarded two equities and a hedge fund- of-funds mandates to Russell.

The brief is worth a total of 50 million dollars (41 million euros).

The combined size of the Japanese, emerging markets and hedge fund-of-funds mandates is worth more than 50 million dollars, and each brief has been allocated one third of the sum.

“We decided that the multi-manager funds represented the best way for us to implement an active strategy for Japanese and emerging markets equities,” said Soren Schjodt-Hansen, FSP’s chief investment officer.

He said the two thirds of the 50 million dollars, invested in the Japanese and emerging markets mandates, had been shifted from other equities investments. The hedge allocation, a new asset class to the fund, came from bonds.

The choice of investing in Japanese and emerging markets equities was also relatively new to the fund, which had previously cut its equities allocation in Asia, Schjodt-Hansen explained.

“We recognised the diversification benefits of this approach and its ability to give us access to a range of leading investment managers in a cost effective and low risk manner,” he said.

Pension funds across Europe has started to see the ‘benefits’ of the multi-manager approach for traditional and alternative asset classes, said Jon Bailie, managing director of institutional investment services at Russell.

“Our appointment by such a well respected fund in an important endorsement of Russell’s approach and we are excited to be growing our reputation in the Danish market,” Bailie added.

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