GERMANY - German insurer Volksfürsorge has acquired Pensor Pensionsfonds, one of the new equity-oriented pension vehicles, from Pensor shareholders Commerzbank and Höfer Vorsorgemanagement, a German pensions consultant.

Financial details of the deal, which must be approved by the federal cartel office, were not disclosed. Last year, Pensor took in €9.3m in contributions.

As IPE reported in May, Commerzbank had decided to sell its majority stake in Pensor due to dissatisfaction with the fund’s performance since three years ago. It was, however, unclear what Höfer planned to do with its stake in Pensor.

Volkfürsorge said the acquisition “underscores its intensive engagement in the area of occupational pensions”.

The insurer is a major player in German occupational pensions, having taking in €4.5bn in contributions between 2000 and 2004 from schemes it offers German companies.

Pensor will now be integrated into Volkfürsorge’s existing Pensionsfonds scheme.

Beyond this scheme, Volksfürsorge offers all vehicles, including direct insurance contracts, support funds, a Pensionskasse (or traditional pension fund) and the book reserves.

Unlike other Pensionsfonds, which serve specific companies or industries, Pensor’s strategy following its launch was to target Germany’s small-to-mid-size enterprise (SME) sector.

While it originally said it could quickly attract pension assets of between €80m and €200m, it has taken in a bit more than €20m.

All Pensionsfonds have underperformed since their creation – partly due to disadvantages compared to Pensionskassen, and a lack of enthusiasm among Germans for equity investing.

However, legislation aimed at strengthening their competitiveness is set to be approved by the German parliament in August.

Once the legislation, which is Germany’s transposition of the EU pension fund directive, takes effect, Pensionsfonds will gain easier access to the €215bn in book-reserve assets.

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