ERAFP, the French civil service pension fund, has awarded two active mandates and one standby mandate for the management of US equities.
The pension fund initially launched a restricted call for tenders in March.
It said it awarded the mandates in line with it policy of broadening its investment universe and in accordance with the five values of its socially responsible investment (SRI) charter.
Following a selection process, ERAFP awarded the active mandates to Natixis Asset Management and Robeco Institutional Asset Management.
The financial management will be delegated to Loomis, Sayles & Company and Robeco Boston Partners, respectively.
The standby mandate has been awarded to Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
The portfolios will be invested mainly in US equities with a long-term investment horizon and the objective of outperforming the MSCI USA index.
The management will also be conviction-based, with no tracking error limit.
Investment will be based on an in-depth fundamental analysis of each portfolio line, involving regular dialogue with target companies.
The asset managers will analyse each portfolio line in the light of the ERAFP’s SRI guidelines, either in-house or using outside providers.
As an indication, the amounts to be invested over a three-year horizon could amount to around €300m, ERAFP said
The initial term of the contracts will be five years, with the possibility for ERAFP to renew each contract for three successive one-year periods.
The French pension fund currently has more than €15bn invested in accordance with a wholly SRI approach.
As a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, in 2006, it has adopted an SRI Charter based on the following five fundamental values: respect of the right of law and human rights; social progress; social democracy; the environment; and proper governance and transparency.
No comments yet