An unnamed pension fund based in Europe is looking for a manager for a US equities mandate of $500m (€468m) or more, taking in all-cap stocks or large-cap stocks and using a multi-factor style and a passive process, according to a search on IPE Quest.
Firms responding to the search should have at least $250bn in assets under management all in all, and at least $1bn under management in this asset class, according to the search.
The pension fund is looking for a manager that has experience in replicating a multi-factor benchmark for US stocks but is also considering the same strategy for pan-euro, according to the search.
Candidates could apply for the US mandate, for pan-Euro or both, it said.
It stipulated that the manager must have experience with passive investing, alternative beta indices – multi-factor indices in particular – and be able to work with an exclusion list.
The firm should also be open to customising an index, have large trading volumes to minimise transaction cots and be willing to offer a segregated mandate.
The aim is to establish a long-term relationship with a manager that was a leading expert in alternative benchmark replication, it said.
The deadline for responses to the search is 7 April, and the final selection will be made on 30 July, according to the search.
Meanwhile, the pension fund of the Veterinary Surgeons’ Association of Austria is looking for an investment manager to take on a €10m-15m balanced mandate incorporating a performance floor allowing annual losses of no more than 5%.
The association, advised by Zurich-based Kottmann Advisory and P&F Portfolio & Finanzmanagement in Vienna, has no preferred benchmark for the balanced portfolio, according to a search on IPE Quest.
A segregated portfolio or an investment fund, or both, could be used to carry out the mandate.
The advisers said they were looking for actual portfolio track records from firms responding to the search, and that they might ask finalists to present audited and auditor-signed performance and size data of funds where there was a maximum annual loss of no more than 8%.
No composite or GIPS data will be allowed to be presented, they said.
Portfolios tracking this floor concept should have a seven-year performance record, with only one year of negative performance, though candidates could present portfolio records with only five years of track record data, the advisers said.
However, they said candidates providing all seven years of data may be preferred.
The final closing date for responses is 30 March, according to the search.
Final selection of investment managers by the board will take place on 28 May.
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.
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