FRANCE - FRR, the French national pension fund, saw its value fall by another 6.5% in the first three months of this year, leaving the body with the legacy of a negative return against the five-year period it has been operating.
A statement issued by Fonds pour les Reserve de Retraite said its performance by the end of Q1 2009, clear of all financial and administrative operating costs, was effectively -1.2% since its inception in June 2004.
The latest losses suggest the fund has fallen in value since the beginning of the year from €27.7bn to just under €26bn, excluding fresh contributions.
Officials say the returns reflect the low point reached by equity markets prior to the market turn in mid-March.
One the back of earlier losses, the pension fund has begun to alter it asset allocation since the end of last year, so equities have dropped from 49% of holdings to 47.7%, fixed income represents 36.5% of asset allocation and other investments, such as commodities, have risen to 3.5% of holdings, while money market assets now make up 12.3% of the fund.
FRR's board of trustees is said to be continuing to re-examine its investment strategy and is still on course to conclude the review by the second half of this year.
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