FRANCE – The French reserve fund, the Fonds de réserve pour les retraites, has awarded a transition management mandate to Goldman Sachs International for three years.

“The executive board of the FRR has awarded a transition manager mandate to Goldman Sachs International for a period of three years,” the 16 billion-euro scheme said in a release.

Goldman will provide centralized securities brokerage services throughout the initial portfolio-building period of the fund, with the aim of minimizing transaction costs and market impact, the FRR said.

And the transition manager will also help to develop a global reporting capability and centralized monitoring as the FRR builds toward full operation.

This mandate was awarded after a process known as “competitive dialogue” under the French Procurement Contracts Code.

It said: “The FRR was pleased with the very high quality of the dialogue that led to the elaboration of the specifications for this mandate, as well as with all of the proposals submitted, particularly considering that this type of mandate constitutes an innovation for French institutional investors.”

The fund was aided by Mercer Investment Consulting and law firm Allen & Overy.

The FRR, which has now allocated almost all its assets to managers, presents its 2003 annual report on July 7.

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