NETHERLANDS - The €1.8bn Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering has selected T. Rowe Price and Acadian Asset Management for its €400m global equity portfolio that is currently solely managed by F&C.

The move comes as the fund continues in the process of switching from balanced to specialist mandates, which started in 1999 with the appointment of Robeco Institutional Asset Management to its international equities portfolio.

The appointments become effective on April 1.

F&C, which has been employed by the sector-wide pension funds for some years, will now manage 30% of the fund’s total assets, down from the current 50%, Horeca’s senior asset manager, Petra Blonk, said.

F&C would still run fixed income, convertible bonds and listed real estate funds.

Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price will manage a €160m US equity portfolio. “T. Rowe price was selected for its fundamental investment approach, dedicated analyst teams and solid track record,” Horeca said.

Boston-based Acadian will be in charge of a €240m international equity ex-US brief. This would have “a multi-factor approach that draws on value, earnings, price and equality measures”.

Horeca, which covers employers and employees working in the hotel, restaurant and catering industry, also employs Western Asset Management for global bonds, Achmea Vastgoed for direct real estate investments and AlpInvest Partners for private equity.

The fund might hire more managers in the future as it continues its switch to specialists, Blonk said, adding: “We are continuously on the move for the optimisation of the portfolios.”

At the moment Horeca is considering whether to embark on hedge fund and commodities investments. Blonk said the process is still at the beginning and may end with the fund deciding to keep away from the asset classes.

She said that if Horeca were to invest in hedge funds, it would still need time to assess how much to allocate and manager appointments would not happen this year.

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