ITALY- The recently-authorised Italian pension fund for public transport workers, Fondo Priamo, estimated to be worth more than €30m, has put out its first request for tenders to fund managers.

In its request for tender, the fund said the deadline for applications to manage assets in a single compartment that will last at least three years was July 9, but the official contacted by IPE declined to discuss it further.

Fondo Priamo, named after the last king of Troy, was one of 10 second-pillar company pension funds authorised to start collecting contributions in February by the pension regulator, Covip.

A Priamo official told IPE the fund has about 33,000 members at the moment, just more than a quarter of its potential membership, estimated by Covip in its 2003 report to be about 120,000. Employers and employees both have to contribute 2% to Priamo and annual contributions are expected to be €30m.

In January 2003, Italy’s regulatory authorities gave its first permission to Priamo to open and it has appointed Monte dei Paschi di Siena as its depositary bank.

The other pension funds recently authorised by Covip are: Edilpre, Fondapi, Fondoposte, Fonser, Fopadiva, Mercurio, Prevaer, Prevedi, and Previdoc.