NETHERLANDS – The €1.7bn KLM pension fund for cabin staff attributed its 2% return over the first quarter mainly to the US government's ability to avoid falling off the so-called 'fiscal cliff'.

The scheme said its 43.1% equity portfolio returned 7.5%, while its 3% holdings in sustainable equity returned 4.7%.

However, it lost 0.8% on its 36.3% fixed income allocation due to rising interest rates and saw property investments return -0.4%.

It also lost 0.4% on its interest-risk hedge and the same again on the coverage of its equity risk, while losing 0.1% on its currency hedge.

With the first-quarter results in, the pension fund's coverage ratio rose to 119.7% – 0.7 percentage points short of achieving its required financial buffer.

Meanwhile, the €7.1bn KLM pension fund for flight staff reported a quarterly return of 1.9%, resulting in a coverage ratio of 130.1%.

The scheme also reported a 7.5% result on equity and a 2% return on its property investments.

However, it said it lost 0.5% on its fixed income holdings and the same again on its equity hedge.

The €16bn Blue Sky Group manages assets on behalf of both schemes, managing seven pension funds in total.

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