EUROPE – A European public pension fund is looking to appoint a manager to a $100m (€77m) in high-yield corporate debt mandate, using IPE-Quest.

For search QN1266, the public fund said it would expect the successful asset manager to be heavily research-focused, with a fundamental bottom-up approach to bond selection.

The mandate should focus on growth and value opportunities, and the manager should have experience with drawdown management.

Only managers with at least three years' experience should apply – with a minimum of $250m in a similar high-yield debt mandate.

Performance will be benchmarked against the Bank of America – Merrill Lynch BB – B Global High Yield index.

Interested managers have until the end of December to apply, stating performance gross of fees to the end of September.

In other news, Cumbria County Council has appointed Standard Life Investments (SLI) to handle a £130m (€161m) fixed income mandate.

The £1.5bn local authority fund said the sterling corporate bond portfolio would be managed by SLI on a 'buy and maintain' basis and was awarded in September.

Commenting on the appointment, the council's senior manager for technical finance Fiona Miller said: "We are confident the move from passive management to a buy-and-maintain mandate will help us achieve attractive value credit spreads while minimising the risk of downgrades, defaults and credit rating risk."

The fund, which saw its deficit increase to nearly £515m at the end of March, said the new portfolio was aimed at protecting against downside risk rather than seeking returns – one of the reasons it had agreed to stand by a 66% strategic allocation to fixed income following a recent investment strategy review.

In the fund's annual report and business plan for 2012-13, it also said it would be considering exposure to infrastructure.

"Once investment opportunities within the desired parameters have been identified, a selection of these funds should be presented to the Investment Sub Group for consideration and selection," it said.

The IPE.com news team is unable to answer any further questions about IPE-Quest tender notices to protect the interests of clients conducting the search. To obtain information directly from IPE-Quest, please contact Jayna Vishram on +44 (0) 20 3465 9330 or email jayna.vishram@ipe-quest.com.

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