Germany’s biggest pension fund, Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), has given Access Capital Partners a large European private equity investment mandate.

The mandate is for primary and secondary investments in European smaller buyout and growth funds, as well as later-stage technology funds.

Access said the mandate was large, but it did not disclose its actual value.

Philippe Poggioli, the firm’s managing partner, said: “We are very pleased the BVK has chosen to significantly enlarge the scope of the mandate we carry out on their behalf.”

Access said it had been chosen as part of BVK’s strategy to cut the number of managers it worked with to a limited number of key, specialised firms.

These managers will be given larger allocations for the period between 2014 and 2017.

The manager, which specialises in funds of private assets, said BVK had invested in several of its funds since 2007 and formed a close working relationship with the pension fund’s alternative investment team.

Meanwhile, Cardano said it has been appointed as fiduciary manager to the £170m (€206m) Brakes Final Salary Pension Scheme, following a search process.

Richard Dowell, head of clients at Cardano UK, said: “We are seeing increasing interest from schemes of a similar size to Brakes that are now looking at the benefits that appointing a fiduciary manager can bring to the funding of their scheme.”

These schemes focuse particularly on having steady and stable growth in the funding ratio, he said.

Giles Payne, trustee of the Brakes scheme, said Cardano’s approach of controlling and improving the scheme’s funding position made it stand out in the selection process.

This was a key differentiator and attraction, he said, in addition to “the clarity they bring to many of the decisions and processes”.

“In a short time,” he added, “we have already seen the difference Cardano can make to our results, as our portfolio risk has reduced whilst maintaining the same expected return.”

PwC advised the trustees and sponsor of the Brakes scheme in the search.

Lastly, law firm Sackers has been appointed legal adviser to the trustees of the Total UK Pension Plan, after a competitive tender.

Lester Farrant, Total’s UK group pensions manager, said Sackers the company and trustees with “their understanding of our needs and the breadth and depth of their expertise”.

The £2.6bn scheme has 13 defined benefit schemes and one defined contribution scheme.

Topics