France’s €7.6bn multi-scheme UMR saw positive returns over 2013 on the back of fixed income and equity investments, as some real estate holdings failed to contribute.

Comprising three funds – Corem, R1 and Corem Co – UMR saw strong returns from the equity portfolios it manages as a whole.

The €6.1bn Corem fund returned 5% over the course of the year, with its €3.4bn in bond holdings supplying 5% returns.

With around 300,000 members, two-thirds of which are still active, the fund maintains a higher equity and growth asset allocation compared with its peers.

Its €1bn in equities produced 3%, while unlisted holdings returned 6.4% and real estate 9.9%.

The R1 fund, with close to €1.6bn in assets, found less success with its bond holdings.

The €1.2bn allocation returned 0.88% through to December 2013, as the overall portfolio provided 5.8%.

Its €195m in equities produced a 5.9% return as the fund saw losses on its real estate portfolio.

Unlisted assets returned 6.8%.

The €3.9m Corum Co fund, made up entirely of bond holdings, returned 6.65% as the fixed income portfolio provided 5.4%.

UMR operated two of its own equity portfolios, the Select Europe fund and the UMR Select OECD fund.

The select fund saw returns hit 20.74% over the course of 2013, as OECD allocations returned 12.23%.

UMR said the Europe fund remained overweight euro-zone equities, as allocations to the currency zone reached 15%.

It’s OECD Select fund saw its returns come from its 60% allocation to North American equities, primarily US consumer stocks and listed real estate investments.

The fund also retained 22% allocations to emerging markets, with a direct 2.8% allocation to local Chinese listed entities.

Across the two funds, UMR’s allocations over 2013 leave it with 50% in European equities, 28% in the US and 11% in emerging markets, with the remainder in Japan, Australia and Canada.

The UMR Select Alternative fund returned 5.83%, as the pension reasserted its commitment to unlisted investments, including 3.4% of the Corem fund, in both private equity and infrastructure.

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